One Thai migrant worker was killed and another seriously injured in two separate brawls that broke out amid merry-making at the Water Festival celebrations in Taipei County over the weekend.
One unidentified Thai worker was hacked to death in a brawl at a Karaoke in Chungho City around dawn yesterday. The brawl was believed to be triggered by rival suitors for a woman during the celebrations for the Thai New Year.
Another Thai worker, identified as Pravit, had his left hand hacked off during another brawl in Hsinchuang City on Friday night. The man is now in stable condition at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou. Police are still investigating the cause of the brawl.
The Water Festival, known as "Songkran" in Thai and "Thingyan" in Burmese, marks the end of the year according to Thai and Burmese lunar calendars. It is also a traditional religious festival that originated from India, where Hindus go to the Ganga River and dip themselves in the water in a ritual of spiritual purification.
The festival takes on a different form in predominantly Buddhist Thailand and Burma, where most people celebrate the occasion by throwing water at people and merry-making. Religious-minded people, meanwhile, visit temples and monasteries.
More than a thousand Thai migrant workers and local residents in Taipei County participated in the annual Water Festival celebrations held in front of the Nan Shih Chiao (南勢角) MRT station on Saturday.
Taipei County's Chungho and Yungho cities have high populations of overseas Chinese from Burma as well as migrant workers from Southeast Asia.
The organizers provided more than 20 water tanks for people to draw and throw water at each other. Fire engines were called in for the occasion, in order to spray water on people. The Water Festival area also featured Thai and Burmese food stalls as well as concert stages where traditional dances are performed.
RSS