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Tatung Precinct police arrest `eight generals' in crackdown on gangsters

On the second day of the crackdown on local gangs, launched by the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau on Thursday, officers from the Taipei City Police Department's Tatung Precinct yesterday arrested seven suspected gangsters and confiscated four pistols, 21 bullets and heroin at their "office" inside the City God Temple in Chungho.

"In addition to being gangsters, these seven suspects also perform as `eight generals' on weekdays. However, they have been doing all kinds of illegal business at the same time," said Lin Kun-huang (林昆煌), chief of the Tatung Precinct.

The seven suspects are 29-year-old Lin Chang-ching (林章慶), 33-year-old Lin Jiunn-liang (林俊良), 32-year-old Yang Cheng-chieh (楊正傑), 30-year-old Tseng Chien-hsun (曾建勛), 27-year-old Yeh Chi-hsiung (葉志雄), 23-year-old Chen Cheng-yung (陳政勇) and 22-year-old Tien Jin-lung (田金龍).

All seven have criminal records, which vary from theft, robbery, murder and drug abuse to rape and kidnapping.

"Eight generals" is a traditional and religious ceremonial performance, which has its roots in Taiwan's temple culture but unfortunately have become stigmatized with shady gangster associations.

The "eight generals" wear gaudy, embroidered clothing, fierce face-paint and straw sandals. They walk with an exaggerated swagger called "tiger steps" and their performance traditionally represented them bringing criminals to justice and protecting the people.

However, those who perform the "eight generals" are often young people who have turned bad and are involved in gangs, sport tattoos and generally are school drop-outs.

The police said that residents of the neighborhood around the City God Temple complained that the suspects had allegedly invited local gangsters approximately a month ago to meet them at the temple. Police officers then started their investigation and waited for the best opportunity to arrest the suspects.

"We discovered that they [the suspects] would meet at the `office' every now and then to take drugs or do their firearm business. So, we decided to arrest them and remove them from the community," Lin Kun-huang said.
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