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Viet, China nationals clash in Geylang dorm
4 men, 2 women from Vietnam said to have used knife, wooden poles in attack
By Lediati Tan
February 20, 2009
POLICE CALLED: A police tape (above) cordons off the dorm area, while officers question a witness (below). PICTURES: LIANHE WANBAO
A GROUP of Vietnamese men and women attacked Chinese nationals living in a Geylang dormitory on Tuesday evening.
The group, made up of four men and two women, targeted people living on the ground floor of the four-storey block on Lorong 26, said residents who witnessed the assault.
Two Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese were injured.
The group fled after they realised the police had been alerted.
The incident happened at about 8.30pm.
The New Paper visited the dormitory, which is home to both Vietnamese and Chinese construction workers, yesterday.
Those who were willing to be interviewed declined to be identified.
A Chinese national who witnessed the fight said in Mandarin: 'A group of about four men and two women from Vietnam came charging in and the men started attacking some Chinese men who came out from their dormitories on the ground floor.'
He said he could not understand what was going on as the group was shouting in Vietnamese.
He also said he could not be sure how many Chinese men were involved in the fighting as it became very chaotic once they started fighting.
Said the Chinese national who has been living in the dormitory for four months: 'One of the Vietnamese men started to hack randomly at the Chinese men with a 20cm-long knife.
'The other Vietnamese men were hitting them with wooden poles that were about a metre long.
'The Vietnamese women were yelling in Vietnamese and seemed to be asking them to stop fighting.'
He added that the Chinese nationals were chased around the compound by the Vietnamese attackers and the attack lasted under 10 minutes.
He said the attackers left when they found out that someone had called the police.
Another Chinese national who only gave his name as Mr Wang said in Mandarin: 'I was in the shower when I heard them arguing very loudly downstairs.
'When I came down, the fighting was almost over. I saw a man in his 30s bleeding profusely from his head.
'Another guy was slashed by a knife and had a gaping wound on his left upper arm.
'There was blood on the floor.'
Mr Wang, who has lived in the dormitory for four months, said he had witnessed minor scuffles in the dormitory before, but nothing as serious as the one on Tuesday.
A police spokesman said that they received a call informing them of a fight at a unit in Lorong 26 Geylang at about 8.40pm on 17Feb.
3 injured
Said the spokesman: 'Upon police arrival, two men in their late 30s and late 20s were found with injuries on their head and back respectively.'
He added that both men were conscious when they were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
A third man, in his early 20s, sustained head injuries and was taken to Changi General Hospital, said the spokesman.
The spokesman also told The New Paper that the police have arrested three people - two men and one woman aged between 19 and 26 years old - in relation to the case yesterday and investigations are ongoing.
The New Paper understands that the three are Vietnamese nationals.
Speculation is rife about what caused the attack, but most residents interviewed believed that it was brought on by the Vietnamese women who came with the attackers.
Three residents said they believed it may have been a case of mistaken identity.
Viet, China nationals clash in Geylang dorm
4 men, 2 women from Vietnam said to have used knife, wooden poles in attack
By Lediati Tan
February 20, 2009
POLICE CALLED: A police tape (above) cordons off the dorm area, while officers question a witness (below). PICTURES: LIANHE WANBAO
A GROUP of Vietnamese men and women attacked Chinese nationals living in a Geylang dormitory on Tuesday evening.
The group, made up of four men and two women, targeted people living on the ground floor of the four-storey block on Lorong 26, said residents who witnessed the assault.
Two Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese were injured.
The group fled after they realised the police had been alerted.
The incident happened at about 8.30pm.
The New Paper visited the dormitory, which is home to both Vietnamese and Chinese construction workers, yesterday.
Those who were willing to be interviewed declined to be identified.
A Chinese national who witnessed the fight said in Mandarin: 'A group of about four men and two women from Vietnam came charging in and the men started attacking some Chinese men who came out from their dormitories on the ground floor.'
He said he could not understand what was going on as the group was shouting in Vietnamese.
He also said he could not be sure how many Chinese men were involved in the fighting as it became very chaotic once they started fighting.
Said the Chinese national who has been living in the dormitory for four months: 'One of the Vietnamese men started to hack randomly at the Chinese men with a 20cm-long knife.
'The other Vietnamese men were hitting them with wooden poles that were about a metre long.
'The Vietnamese women were yelling in Vietnamese and seemed to be asking them to stop fighting.'
He added that the Chinese nationals were chased around the compound by the Vietnamese attackers and the attack lasted under 10 minutes.
He said the attackers left when they found out that someone had called the police.
Another Chinese national who only gave his name as Mr Wang said in Mandarin: 'I was in the shower when I heard them arguing very loudly downstairs.
'When I came down, the fighting was almost over. I saw a man in his 30s bleeding profusely from his head.
'Another guy was slashed by a knife and had a gaping wound on his left upper arm.
'There was blood on the floor.'
Mr Wang, who has lived in the dormitory for four months, said he had witnessed minor scuffles in the dormitory before, but nothing as serious as the one on Tuesday.
A police spokesman said that they received a call informing them of a fight at a unit in Lorong 26 Geylang at about 8.40pm on 17Feb.
3 injured
Said the spokesman: 'Upon police arrival, two men in their late 30s and late 20s were found with injuries on their head and back respectively.'
He added that both men were conscious when they were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
A third man, in his early 20s, sustained head injuries and was taken to Changi General Hospital, said the spokesman.
The spokesman also told The New Paper that the police have arrested three people - two men and one woman aged between 19 and 26 years old - in relation to the case yesterday and investigations are ongoing.
The New Paper understands that the three are Vietnamese nationals.
Speculation is rife about what caused the attack, but most residents interviewed believed that it was brought on by the Vietnamese women who came with the attackers.
Three residents said they believed it may have been a case of mistaken identity.
