Police are looking into what’s believed to be a triad-related attack on a restaurant owner in Sham Shui Po that took place in the early hours of this morning.
Video of the fracas published by Apple Daily this afternoon shows eight people embroiled in the brawl, which then spills out onto the sidewalk outside the restaurant. At one point, three people can be seen on the ground being kicked while another person hits them with a stool before running off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3StZvVLxs&frags=pl%2Cwn
Ming Pao reports that at 11am yesterday morning, someone claiming to belong to a triad gang went to the restaurant and gave the owner a potted mandarin tree, a typical Chinese New Year decoration as mandarins and other citrus fruits promise luck, prosperity, and longevity.
That person then said that he was there to collect “protection money,” or “to dei,“ a fee collected by triad gangs from business owners within their turf.
The owner, a 35-year-old surnamed Chan, refused to pay up, saying “what protection fee?” He then dumped the mandarin tree into a trash can in an alleyway.
And then early this morning, four men wearing face masks and carrying wooden sticks barged into the restaurant and began to attack Chan and three other men inside the restaurant, pulling them out into the street.
Paramedics arrived at the scene, where they found Chan with injuries to his back and head. He refused to be sent to the hospital, and when asked by reporters at the scene what had happened, simply said a “jianghu matter.” “Jianghu” is a Mandarin term that literally translates to “rivers and lakes,” and is generally used to refer to the triad underworld.
Police are treating the matter as a case of actual bodily harm, extortion, and claiming to be a triad member, which is a criminal offense in and of itself.
Police arrested a 24-year-old woman surnamed Lai nearby whom they believe was there to keep a lookout for the four attackers.
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