Ma fuming over drunken brawl

Following a drunken roadside brawl on Monday morning in which two police officers were injured, the Taipei City Government yesterday announced its determination to take legal action against the perpetrators.

Among the suspects is a famous television producer who tried to get away with the assault by seeking help from influential political figures.

"The city government is determined to crack down on driving under the influence of alcohol [DUI], and we will not permit challenges against our law enforcement officers and encroachment on civil rights," Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at the City Hall yesterday afternoon.

Ma added that he has requested Wang Cho-chun (王卓鈞), director of Taipei City Police Headquarters (台北市警局), complete a report on the incident within two days.

The investigation, Ma said, will focus on identifying whether anyone tried to interfere with the execution of the officers' duties by using threats or influence-peddling.

"I don't care how high up those people are and who they are. We're determined to discover the truth and make it public," he said.

Handed over to prosecutors for further investigation yesterday were television producer Teng Yu-kun (鄧育昆), who allegedly hit one of the police officers, and Chou Chi-wu (周齊吾), who was driving under the influence of alcohol and who allegedly has close connections with crime syndicates. Though Teng had initially been released by police on the night of the incident, he was again taken into custody following the mayor's announcement.

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning after Chou's car was stopped by two police officers -- Tseng Chien-ping (曾建平) and Wang Chi-wei (王琦偉) -- who were conducting routine roadside spot checks for drunk-driving.

At a press conference held by New Party City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) at the City Council yesterday morning, Tseng said that Chou initially refused to have his blood-alcohol level tested and then started to pull and drag him.

Teng then joined the fray, as did four others who got out of two other vehicles. During the assault, Teng allegedly slapped Tseng around the face.

During the turmoil, Tseng said, Teng made phone calls via his cellphone to seek help from high-ranking government officials, including police officers and lawmakers, in an attempt to have them pedal their influence in the matter.

To protect himself from attack and to intimidate the gang, Tseng said he pulled out his gun and radioed for help.

After questioning at the police precinct, Chou was handed over to prosecutors for endangering public safety. Chou's blood-alcohol level was recorded as 66mg/ml. The legal limit is set at 25mg/ml, but the common standard adopted by police is 55mg/ml.

Teng, on the other hand, was freed, because Tseng's supervisors concluded that the Tseng had not in fact been physically injured.

Teng's release apparently led to the displeasure of Tseng and his colleagues, who claimed that the supervising officer had bowed to pressure from senior police officials and tried to play down the issue.

It was speculated that Ma Yong-cheng (馬永成), secretary to the president and a classmate of the supervising officer's son, was involved. The officer, however, has denied the speculation.