Two prisoners released under the commutation statute were suspected of shooting and injuring two people in Hualien yesterday morning.
Police said they are now looking for two suspects, identified as Lee Ching-piao (李清標) and Chou Hsien-teh (邱顯德).
According to police, Chou and Lee drove a car past a karaoke bar located in Yuli (玉里) Township, Hualien County, around 3pm yesterday. Lee allegedly fired shots from the car at a group of people gathered outside the bar.
The two suspects are Hualien gangsters, police said, adding that they suspected the victims and their friends were also gangsters.
Police said Lee and Chou drank at the karaoke bar on Friday night. There they met the two victims, who were also drinking with their friends.
When both parties paid their checks and were about to leave at around 3am yesterday morning, the victims and their friends started asking the suspects why they had recently beaten a friend of theirs known as `monkey' and how were they going to pay for it.
Police said the suspects told them, "Give us 10 minutes, and we will tell you how we will pay for it."
The pair then left the bar.
Ten minutes later, as the victims and their friends stood outside the bar waiting for the pair, a white car suddenly pulled up and fired at them, police said.
Police said Lee is suspected of firing seven bullets.
Yesterday, police searched for the car, which they found abandoned in Yuli with two bullets and a knife left inside.
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