Doctor says it'll take 4 months to remove tattoos done in overnight detention.
THE trio were his former high school classmates and had allegedly been bullying him for the last six years. The Taiwanese teen, known only as Li, did not dare to tell his family or his teachers about the bullying even after graduation. And the bullies had apparently become so emboldened over the years that when they bumped into the 19-year-old again last month, they did the unthinkable.
They allegedly beat him up and tattooed parts of his body with vulgarities and other symbols. Apple Daily reported that the trio often took part in dragon and lion dance performances at temples while schooling, and were always demanding that Li join them in those performances. Li, who was an introvert, was not interested in their activities and had turned them down many times.
One of the trio, Li Qian, also 19, was said to have taken particular offence at Li's constant refusals. On Oct 19, Li bumped into them on the street and was said to have turned Li Qian down again. Li Qian was apparently so angry that he and the two other classmates took Li to his house in Kuantu, Taipei. There, they allegedly verbally insulted him before beating him up as a "punishment for disobeying their orders". However, Li Qian was still seething with anger and suddenly thought of tattooing Li to teach him a lesson. Using cheap inking equipment, they allegedly tattooed the words "What are you looking at", "Son of a *****" and other vulgarities on Li's back. They also allegedly tattooed various symbols on other parts of his body. These included a hand showing the middlefinger on his back, a Nazi swastika on the back of his left hand, a winged cross on his left forearm and another symbol with the words "big fire" on his right upper arm. And to add insult to injury, they were said to have demanded NT$2,000 (S$85) in "inking fees" from him. After detaining him overnight, they released him the following afternoon.
Li was so traumatised after the alleged attack that he did not return home and wandered the streets for days. He did not report the alleged attack to the authorities as he was afraid of retaliation from them. But thanks to a stroke of luck, Li's ordeal was soon brought to light. The Liberty Times reported that on Tuesday, 41-year-old police officer Fan Yuyuan was approached by Li's friend. The young man told Mr Fan that he had not eaten for days, so Mr Fan offered to buy him a bowl of noodles. He then told Mr Fan about the alleged tattoo attack.
Mr Fan did not believe the young man initially, but decided to follow up on the lead and look for Li to assist his investigation. The trio were arrested on Wednesday night and were charged with causing hurt, criminal intimidation and other offences. Li Qian was said to have told police that he was just "playing around" and that Li had asked for the tattoos. Li, meanwhile, is said to be very worried that he cannot find a proper job because of the tattoos. A plastic surgeon interviewed by Apple Daily Taiwan said that it would take three to four months to completely remove the tattoos, and it could cost Li between NT$200,000 to NT$300,000.