S'porean on holiday in Taiwan with wife & friends allegedly attacked by 5 men in KTV outlet

On holiday in Taiwan with his wife and four others, a Singaporean man was allegedly attacked by five men.

The man, surnamed Ng, told Mothership that the incident happened on Aug. 8 at around 4am as he and his group were leaving a karaoke session at Superstar KTV in Taichung City.

The 35-year-old suffered injuries on his head, arms and chest and subsequently missed his planned return flight scheduled on Aug. 8 afternoon.

How the assault happened

As it was their last night in Taiwan, Ng and his group sang and drank with their local friends and relatives at the KTV.

Ng told Mothership that the incident happened when he was entering the lift with his wife, two of his wife's cousins and a friend after the karaoke session.

He was the last to enter the lift and someone pushed him from behind, he recounted.

Confused by the push, Ng turned around. A man then shouted, "看三小 ? (What are you looking at?)" before punching Ng.

"No strangers in their right mind would have wanted to enter the lift because it would be too cramped. The lift is perfect for at most 6 pax. And these 3 assaulters were quite plump," Ng said.

Ng's companions tried to hold the assailants back but to no avail. They suffered light bruises and scratches in the scuffle.

Another two men joined the fight later and while Ng was on the ground, a man struck him with a fire extinguisher.

Ng told Mothership that his group did not know any of the men.

"I can’t find a reason why they were provoked. That is why I told the law enforcers these people might be on drugs. But they apparently didn’t mention any of these and I wasn’t told a urine test was done for them nor for me," Ng said but added that he has no evidence to prove that the men took drugs.

Injured, missed return flight and paid bail

The police were subsequently alerted and they were taken to the hospital before going to the police station to give their statements, Ng said.

The police asked Ng if he would press charges against the men, Ng said he would.

However, the police told him that his attackers also had the intention to press charges against him, which left him "speechless".

According to Ng, the police also asked him to pay a bail of about NT$20,000(S\$$820).

He added that the police told him that if he's guilty and failed to appear for the court hearing, the money would be forfeited. However, if he's innocent, the money would be returned to him.

Ng told Mothership that despite being a victim, he didn't feel supported by the authorities.

"I was handcuffed, photographed from multiple angles, fingerprinted, and even had my palm prints taken—exactly like a criminal," he said.

Ng could not return to Singapore as planned on Aug. 8 because of the incident.

He was advised by the hospital staff to monitor for any sign of dizziness or vomiting in the following 72 hours to ensure he's not suffering from major head injuries.

The incident also made him appreciate Singapore's law enforcement more.

"Witnessing this overseas makes me grateful for our law enforcements and laws in Singapore. Here they can merely escape justice with 'fines'. When the law enforcements arrived at the scene, the attackers were still provoking and challenging the police. Bet they were on drugs and no urine tests were taken because if there were any findings, it only means more paperwork for the police," Ng said.

Ng is still in Taiwan and said he will have to make another trip to the hospital tomorrow (Aug. 10).