Chinese police arrest 9 suspects over attack on women in Tangshan
- Provincial public security department orders officers from another city to take over investigation
- Case prompts others in Tangshan to make allegations about gang activity
Nine people suspected of taking part in a vicious attack on a group of women in a northern Chinese city have been formally arrested and their case handed over to police in another municipality.
A group of women were beaten badly after one of them was harassed by a man and rejected him at a barbecue restaurant in Tangshan, Hebei province, late night on Friday. Two of the women required hospital treatment.
Footage of the attack was posted online, igniting nationwide discussion about predatory sexual behaviour and gang activity.
The footage shows a man walking over to four women dining at a restaurant and putting his hand on one woman’s back.
He is pushed away twice, and he responds furiously by slapping and beating the other women at the table. A group of men then rush in and drag the women outside.
Hebei’s Public Security Department ordered police in the city of Langfang, about 150km (93 miles) from Tangshan, to take over the investigation of the case.