3 placed under residence restrictions after Mazu pilgrimage clashes

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Three suspects have been placed under residence restrictions after clashing with police as the annual Dajia Mazu pilgrimage passed through Changhua County last week, the Changhua District Prosecutors Office said Tuesday.

Changhua prosecutors said the Changhua District Court ordered a 21-year-old man surnamed Ko (柯) and two brothers surnamed Yeh (葉), aged 25 and 21, to be placed under residence restrictions after ruling that detention was not necessary.

A fourth suspect in the violence, a 21-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), was previously ordered detained by the Changhua District Court, as he was believed to pose a risk of collusion and evidence tampering.

• 3 officers injured, 2 arrested in clashes during Dajia Mazu pilgrimage

The violence occurred late on the night of April 18 when a group of people in orange clothing clashed with police as the nine-day pilgrimage organized by the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, which began a day earlier, was passing through Changhua City.

The incident left three police officers injured. Chen was arrested at the scene, while the three other suspects, Ko and the Yeh brothers, fled, but they were later apprehended on Sunday.

According to the Changhua County Police Department, a dispute that broke out at around 10:50 p.m. Saturday among members of a group welcoming the procession escalated into pushing and shoving. When police officers intervened, the suspects allegedly attacked them.

Police said all four suspects were members of a temple, and that Ko and the Yeh brothers, who have prior convictions for offenses including public disorder, were found in possession of suspected illicit narcotics when arrested.

Prosecutors said that when Chen was first arrested, he was also found in possession of illicit drugs, including drug-laced coffee packets and ketamine cigarettes, and had gang affiliations and a criminal record involving multiple cases.