0.5-yuan dispute sparks big brawls
( 2003-11-18 17:33) (China Daily)
Police riot squads were dispatched twice over the weekend to a parking lot to
stop brawls set off by a 0.5-yuan (6 US cents) dispute, reports Guangzhou Daily.
Many migrant workers earn a living at the parking lot, at Datong Road in the
Liwan District, by moving cargo for trucks dropping off goods.
When a migrant worker pushed a trolley into a the parking lot on Saturday
morning, the parking lot guards, who are also migrant workers, demanded that he
pay a 1-yuan (12 US cents) "entrance fee".
When he said he was only willing to pay 0.5 yuan, he was beaten in an
altercation that escalated to include about 100 people.
On Sunday, some of the workers returned to the parking lot to demand
compensation for their injured friends but were refused. Both parties sent for
extra help, triggering another fight involving nearly 200.
Riot police had to be summoned to break up both conflicts.
|
