My first and last bribe

This was back in November 2007. My workplace had arranged for my visit to the main branch in the UK, for which I needed to get a passport. The experience at the Passport Office, though tedious, went off well. The problem was later at the police verification stage. I was called to the police station and a plain-clothed officer asked me about my background, surprisingly most of his questions steered towards pinpointing my financial status. His questions done, he asked me to pay him 200/-

I was 22 back then, working for a year. I naively told him that I had already paid all the money due at the Passport office. He said this was for the police verification -- I still wasn't sure what this was about and told him that I did not have that much money on me. He asked me to go home and get the money. It was while walking back home that it struck me that I had being asked for a bribe.

I went home and told my parents about the incident and also that I had no intention of paying him off. I even checked online for places where I could complain against the guy. However my parents convinced me that this is how things work and I shouldn't mess with policemen as they could easily stall my passport.

I went back to the police station with the bribe amount and paid off the policeman INSIDE a police station. This is where I would go to complain against corruption, and instead those who should fill in my complaint were too busy filling their pockets with bribes. I was in a daze throughout the experience and just wanted to move out as soon as I could. However as I walked out, I resolved never to pay a bribe again and I am proud that I haven't yet in the last 5 years!