About 100 angry Macao tour guides surrounded a busload of mainland tourists Monday night after three of those on board were accused of beating a guide. The confrontation lasted for five hours before police intervened.
During the incident, an apology by the father of one of the suspected attackers was rejected, with some guides demanding compensation of HK$200,000 (US$25,600). Police officers at the scene finally stepped in when no agreement could be reached and drove the tourists back to their hotel in police vehicles.
The dispute erupted after the 26-member tour group from Liaoning Province arrived earlier than scheduled. They complained that local guides were late in picking them up from the ferry wharf. A guide from another travel agency who tried to mediate was reportedly attacked by three members of the group and received a minor head injury.
In a separate incident, two mainland tourists and a Hong Kong tour guide were fined HK$1,000 each and bound over to be of good behavior for a year by a Hong Kong court Feb. 7.
Zhang Yong and his wife, from Anhui Province, had clashed with the Hong Kong guide, surnamed Lam, after he had abused them for not shopping at a designated jewelry store.
Also during the New Year holidays, two groups of mainland tourists clashed in Alishan, one of the most well-known scenic spots in Taiwan, after members of one group tried to jump the queue for a sightseeing train.
(SD News)
