A foreign man was found drowned on the beach of a Kenting resort early last Saturday morning in the midst of a long weekend of partying.
The man was found on the sand at Long Beach (
According to Hengchun police, who are still investigating the case, the man was camping at another beach with several friends.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
On Friday night, he attended the Moonlight Party with his girlfriend. But his girlfriend returned to their camp site alone, leaving him at the seaside rave.
Police would not reveal the man's identity nor his nationality.
Organizers of the Moonlight Party, a Taipei group called Rock Candy, said they were not aware of the details of the accident.
They had eight life guards on duty and had taken every possible precaution against such an accident, including an NT$10 million accident insurance policy, they said.
In a separate incident, police raided a second party, sponsored by the Taipei group Dreamfield, hauling in 110 party-goers for drug tests and possession of drugs including opium, ecstasy and marijuana.
The raid was orchestrated by Taiwan's National Police Administration, rather than local authorities, and several party-goers spoke of the use of undercover agents, though that could not be confirmed.
Last Friday was Tomb-Sweeping Day, a national holiday. In recent years, crowds have flooded Kenting and the rest of Taiwan's southern peninsula during the long weekend, which generally heralds the arrival of summer beach weather.
Hengchun Police estimated that well over 10,000 flocked to the area last weekend.
Accounting for a significant portion of the influx were five major outdoor parties held within one or two kilometers of the entrance to the Kenting National Park.
In addition to the Moonlight Party and the Dreamfield-sponsored rave, there was also a third electronic music party, the four-day Spring Scream rock festival, and an event sponsored by the Kaohsiung bar DNA.
Founded in 1996, Spring Scream is the longest running and best known of the events, though it has never been associated with any accidents resulting in death or serious injury.
Over the weekend, it attracted around 3,000 people and passed without incident.
The other events are all recent additions to the Tomb-Sweeping Day long weekend. The Moonlight party was first held last year, while the other parties were added this year.
Local police also reported an unusually high number of traffic accidents over the weekend, though they said no deaths or critical injuries resulted.
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