Seven people were stabbed on Wednesday amid a falling out between two friends over collecting a debt, and 12 suspects have been detained, New Taipei City police said.
Police said they are searching for more suspects in connection with the incident.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing about 30 people chasing the victims through the streets of Sanchong District (三重), with flares being thrown.
“The people doing the chasing were carrying knives, clubs and other weapons. Local residents were scared for their own safety. Several men were bleeding from cuts. It looked like something out of movies about rival gangs fighting. Police were called right away, and they came quickly to handle the situation,” one eyewitness said.
Police said officers made a sweep of the area and detained the suspects after following up on leads provided by eyewitnesses.
Officers found machetes, knives and a stun gun on the suspects and in their vehicles, police said.
The seven men who sustained injuries were taken to two local hospitals, with two of them having serious but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
A man surnamed Lin (林) sustained a 20cm cut to his abdomen, and a man surnamed Tu (涂) was stabbed six times in his head, left arm and chest, they said.
Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that the violence stemmed from Lin’s effort to collect money a pawnshop owner owed him.
Lin told police during questioning that the shop owner owed him NT$9 million (US$289,892), but the owner suffered a stroke two months ago and could not pay the money, police said.
Police quoted Lin as saying that he had asked a friend, surnamed Shen (沈), to go with him to meet the shop owner’s family and ask them for the money.
However, Shen refused to go, which made Lin angry and led to several arguments between them, Lin told police.
According to Lin’s statement, he and Shen had arranged to meet on Wednesday, and each man brought friends to the meeting; when the argument grew heated, the two sides attacked each other.
Police said some of the men involved in the incident had organized crime backgrounds.
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