A senior Taiwanese police officer who stumbled into the presidential residence while drunk has been cleared by a court, though his own force already punished him.

• A criminal investigation bureau squad leader lost his phone after a dinner and wandered the streets of Taipei looking for it.
• He walked up to the presidential residence, told guards he was a police officer, and asked to rest inside, thinking it was police dormitory housing.
• Guards turned him away and he left without arguing, so a Taipei court found no real disturbance and imposed no fine.
• His own bureau was harsher: a demerit, removal from his command post, and placement under review for damaging the force's reputation.
• The lost phone was picked up by a passerby and handed in at a local police station, where he collected it.

Outlook: The ruling can still be appealed, but the officer's career setback inside the force is already done.