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.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS