A Chinese tourist who tried to report a stolen wallet during a recent visit to Germany managed to sign the wrong application, which got him stranded in a refugee shelter for two whole weeks. Unlucky mate.

Featured Image VIA

The 31-year-old, who is named as Mr L, could only speak his native tongue Mandarin, and so was unable to explain his way out of the situation. German authorities were only able to translate for him after turning to a local Chinese restaurant in desperation.

Christoph Schlütermann, an official with the German Red Cross, which runs the refugee home, said:

He spent 12 days trapped in our bureaucratic jungle because we couldn’t communicate.

Germany is unfortunately an extremely bureaucratic country. Especially during the refugee crisis I’ve seen how much red tape we have.

As a result, poor old Mr L had to endure two weeks of confusion. After he had been robbed, he went to the town hall thinking it was a police station.

Image VIA

He signed an asylum application instead of submitting a robbery form, and was taken 220 miles to the shelter in Dulmen. He was then given food and spending money like the other refugees. Schlütermann added:

He simply did what he was told.

Mr L drew attention when the staff saw that he was well dressed and also because he kept trying to talk to people and asking to get his passport back. With the help of the translator he eventually made it clear that he did not seek asylum. But it was 12 fucking days before German officials could put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. When he left, they said Mr L was happy to leave but not upset. What an absolute chiller.

For more on lost tourists, check out what really happened to the British traveller who went missing in Thailand.