Why NOT To Stop At Red Lights At Night in Brazil

CRIME IN BRAZIL

GETTING ROBBED IN RIO DE JANEIRO: HOW WILL IT GO DOWN?

This is the way that planned robberies often go down in Rio de Janeiro:

a bad guy spots someone who he presumes has money (usually someone who works in a nice building, wears a business suit to work, has a decent car, lives in a good neighborhood – one or all of the aformantioned attributes will suffice), the bad guy stalks and “kidnaps” this person and takes them to an ATM, orders the person at gunpoint to take the maximum amount of their money out of the ATM, and finally the bad guy either kills the victim or just runs off provided that the victim was fully cooperative with his demands.

But not this time. In the story below published by Último Segundo, the kidnapper forces the victim, a female lawyer, to drive him to the shopping mall, and then to purchase him a laptop computer, a cell phone, and a pair of wedding rings!

Lesson: Getting robbed in Brazil may happen. Just remember: cooperate with your assaulter, do not threaten him, just give him whatever he wants. If you do this, you will likely make it out of the situation alive.

 

WHY YOU DON’T STOP AT RED LIGHTS IN BRAZIL AT NIGHT

Note that the victim in the article was picked up while stopped at a traffic light – in some parts of Brazil (mostly Rio and Sao Paulo, but really in any big city this is a problem) it is considered dangerous to stop at red lights for any period of time, especially at night. While driving at night you could easily get car-jacked if you stop at a red light in the wrong area, so you’ll notice that most people just don’t stop at all, even your taxi driver.

Lesson: Do not walk around the streets of Brazil showing that you have money. Pay attention to what you wear, how you act, and who may be following you. If you display or brag that you have money, you are looking for trouble. And if you are driving at night and approach a red light, slow down a little bit so that you can see that the intersection is clear, but do not come to a full stop. Just keep on going! Also, do not walk into dark, scarcely populated areas in general!

Here’s the article for you to read in Portuguese, and some vocab from the article below:

“Advogada é Levada Para Shopping Durante Sequestro-Relâmpago no Rio”

Uma advogada foi vítima de um sequestro-relâmpago na noite desta terça-feira (2) na zona sul do Rio. Após ser rendida por dois homens em um sinal de trânsito na Gávea, a vítima foi obrigada a ir dirigindo até um shopping localizado em São Conrado.

Ao chegar ao centro comercial, a advogada teve que saltar do carro acompanhada de um dos criminosos. O outro suspeito ficou dentro do automóvel no estacionamento. No shopping com a vítima, o assaltante a obrigou a comprar um celular e um notebook.

A compra, no entanto, demorou para ser efetuada, fazendo o suspeito desistir dela. Irritado, ele levou a vítima até uma loja de joias para que fosse comprado um par de alianças. Intrigados com o movimento do assaltante e da advogada pelo shopping, os seguranças do centro comercial acionaram a Polícia Militar.

Read More / Leia Mais… Via Ultimo Segundo

 

PORTUGUESE “CRIME” VOCAB FROM THE ARTICLE

sequestro-relâmpago - a “flash” kidnapping. This is exactly what i described above, it is when people are kidnapped for a short time, taken to an ATM, and robbed.

rendida – in this context, means “forced to concede,” also means “rendered”

centro comercial – shopping center

saltar o carro – to jump out of the car

suspeito – suspect

“no estacionamento” – “in the parking lot”

vítima – victim

foi obrigada – was forced

notebook – laptop computer

“demorou para ser efetuada” – “took some time to accomplish”

desistir – to give up

loja de joias – jewelry store

“um par de alianças” – “a pair of wedding rings”

“intrigados com o movimento” – “intrigued by the commotion / activity”

assaltante – assailant, assaulter

os seguranças – the security guards

“acionaram a Polícia Militar” – in this context, means: “they called the military police”