CNN
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nine people have been arrested China Following an attack on four women in the northern city of Tangshan on Friday, local police said in a statement on Saturday.
Graphic security footage showing scenes of the incident was posted on social media on Friday, sparking national outrage and heated discussions online about women’s safety and rights in China.
Time-stamped surveillance footage that has been widely circulated online shows a man walking into a barbecue restaurant at around 2:40 a.m. local time on Friday and following a woman who is sitting down to eat with her companions. The man is seen approaching one of the women and placing his hand on her back, before grabbing her by the wrist and pushing her away.
Surveillance footage shows that the woman can be heard interrogating him. After the woman’s protest, the man responded by slapping the woman’s face.
A scuffle ensues between the two, surveillance footage shows. The woman tried to hit him with a glass bottle and tried to drive him away.
Surveillance footage shows the woman’s friends trying to stop the fight and the man as well as being beaten up by a group of other men who run into the restaurant.
In the footage, several women can be seen punching, kicking, grabbing and dragging their hair with the ground.
Graphic video footage of women being beaten up sparked national outrage over women’s safety. After the video became public, Tangshan police published a statement on Friday afternoon saying they had identified the suspects and were looking for them.
In another statement released on Friday, Tangshan police said two women were sent to hospital after the attack and were in stable condition, while two other women suffered minor injuries.
On Saturday, local police sent out an update saying they had detained all nine suspects, including seven men and two of their female accomplices. The update added that the two female victims who had suffered non-life-threatening injuries were undergoing treatment at the hospital and were in a stable condition.
The incident was widely discussed on Chinese social media over the weekend and sparked public outrage in the country. Some are questioning the safety of women in China online, while others are discussing systemic violence against women in the country.
Many celebrities have also come out in support of the victims. Actor Jackie Chan posted on his Weibo account, saying, “I am very angry and I can’t sleep all night. What hurts me the most is that only women came forward to help each other, whereas The men did nothing.
According to a statement by Langfang police late Saturday, provincial authorities ordered the criminal investigation of the case to be transferred to Langfang, a different city in Hebei province.
Such a move usually occurs when investigations are sensitive or important, or when cases involve gang-related crimes and require escape from a local shelter.