A man suspected in what police called the severe beating of a 75-year-old Keelung woman turned himself in yesterday afternoon and asked to settle out of court, but the complainant refused to settle, citing fears the man may assault other people.
The woman, surnamed Chung (鍾), said she was standing by a bulletin board reading the notices after taking out the trash at about 4pm on Wednesday.
A man surnamed Chen (陳) suddenly stopped behind her on his scooter and started cursing at her, then asked her why she did not respond when he called her, Chung said, adding that she thought Chen looked as if he were on drugs.
Photo: Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
Chung said Chen attacked her — with his fists and a motorcycle helmet — after she said she did not know him.
Even after she was knocked to the ground, the man kicked her in the belly three or four times before one of her neighbors came to stop him, she said.
Her neighbors, shocked at first, quickly came to her aid, Chung said, adding that Chen left after telling a neighbor who helped Chung that he would beat her too if she was too nosy.
Chung said she went directly to the police station to report the incident.
One of Chung’s neighbors, also surnamed Chen, said she remembered seeing the man “wander” around the area before, adding that she remembered his scooter license plate having the numbers “270.”
Officers from the Keelung City Police Department’s first precinct Zhonger Road station pulled the footage from nearby closed-circuit television cameras, but the scene was blocked by a utility pole.
The police identified the general location of the suspect, and on Friday asked nearby borough wardens to persuade him to turn himself in.
Police said the suspect turned himself in at 2pm yesterday and asked the borough warden overseeing affairs at his registered residence to give Chung NT$10,000 (US$331) in compensation.
He also asked to settle out of court, but was refused by Chung, police added.
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