SINGAPORE - A group of Koreans' night out on the first day of Chinese New Year in Singapore ended with three of them in hospital, with injuries such as a fractured skull, a torn ear and a split lip.
The six men were attacked outside Rendezvous Grand Hotel in Bras Basah Road at about 4.40am.
They had gone to Club Password, a recently opened outlet with Korean performers. One of the performers took an interest in one of the Korean men, apparently angering a table of Singaporean men, said Shin Min Daily News.
A friend of one of the victims, a self-employed 47-year-old, told Shin Min that the other group started flipping tables and that both groups started pushing each other.
The Korean men left the club, but were followed by the Singaporean group of about 10 men. While the Koreans waited for a taxi outside the hotel, they were attacked with metal poles and beer mugs.
One of the victims, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tae, 26, said that one of the girls at the club had shown an interest in his friend, David, 27. He said that David was attacked first and he stepped in to stop the attack. He was also beaten up.
"It's very painful," said Mr Tae, who has since been discharged from Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "I was very scared. I never expected such a thing to happen in Singapore."
David suffered a fractured skull and is still in hospital.
Witnesses told Shin Min that the Singaporean group fled the scene within five minutes of the attack.
Police said they received a call at 4.43am and when they arrived at the scene, a case of rioting had occurred.
Three men, all Koreans, were taken to SGH and police investigations are ongoing. No arrests have been made.
This article by The New Paper was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
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