Taichung police yesterday morning beefed up their presence at several potential hot spots and conducted checks at nightclubs, after large groups were involved in street brawls two days in a row.
In the early morning, 50 officers from two precincts made rounds at commercial strips in Nantun District (南屯).
They focused on three nightclubs: X-Cube, 18TC and Coolsh, Nantu Police Precinct Chief Chou Ching-pin (周景彬) told reporters.
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei
Police entered the clubs unannounced, turned off the music and checked the identification documents of 1,200 patrons and staff, Chou said.
Proprietors were told to inspect patrons more closely at the door, and to use hand-held metal detectors to prevent people from bringing firearms, knives, metal rods or other weapons into their clubs, Chou said.
“This show of force … was in response to the previous two violent incidents, which have affected local residents,” Chou said. “These unannounced inspections will continue, to deter groups from fighting. We will strive to uphold public security and have mobile police units on standby to arrest offenders.”
The first incident took place on Wednesday morning, when more than 20 people began fighting at X-Cube.
A man surnamed Chen (陳), 23, had reportedly argued with nightclub staff the week before and convinced a group of friends help him seek revenge.
When the fighting started, Chen allegedly called more friends to join him, because his group was outnumbered.
The fight moved outside, and surveillance footage showed people wielding metal bats and rods in the street.
In the footage, one man, who was apparently working as a bouncer, is shown picking up a fire extinguisher. With other staff, he can be seen banging on the windows and doors of three cars used by Chen and his friends.
Nine people were injured and several cars and motorcycles were damaged.
There was another brawl yesterday morning in front of a steak restaurant in Situn District (西屯).
Two men who opened the restaurant together were having a late night meal on the premises when they allegedly got into an argument over finances and called their friends for support.
Nineteen people were taken in for questioning, and one sports utility vehicle was damaged by people wielding metal baseball bats.
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