TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following a series of violent incidents in Taiwan involving baseball bats, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said police will register anyone with a bat found in their car in the future.
During his speech at the “Synchronized National Anti-Gang Program” press conference on Monday (Nov. 22), Hsu vowed to uproot and snuff out organized crime, CNA reported. He mentioned recent “baseball bat team” incidents in Taichung, New Taipei, and Yunlin that disrupted social order over very small disputes.
Authorities have found that many bat-wielding miscreants are linked to scam or gambling rings. While some culprits involved did not have a gang affiliation on file, police will focus on combating these people’s tendencies to be violent and group up, Hsu was cited as saying.
Therefore, the police will start registering anyone found to be carrying a bat in their car during an inspection. The government will focus on any violence involving bats, especially life-threatening cases.
The brutal beating of a student who scraped a Maserati on Nov. 7 drew a public outcry and attracted national attention to the many violent incidents involving baseball bats. On Sunday (Nov. 21), the fatal stabbing of a convenience store clerk shocked the country once again, calling attention to safety issues in the country, which various government departments have responded to with increased security and monitoring measures.
