NewsWhore
12-22-2008, 05:30 PM
Traders in Santo Domingo's Barrio Chino (Chinatown), the stretch of Duarte Avenue between Mexico Ave. and Mella Street, staged a confrontation with municipal authorities yesterday morning in protest against the parking prohibition that affects two key streets in the area.
The resistance began at 11 in the morning with a peaceful protest against Mayor Roberto Salcedo's parking prohibition until 7 January.
In response to the disturbance, a Municipal Police contingent headed by Colonel Dival Peguero arrived at 2pm to restore order and remove the vehicles. This resulted in verbal and physical confrontation between the traders and police.
The president of the Chinatown Traders Association, Juan Paniagua, was beaten without provocation, according to his associates, by Dival Peguero. He was hit in the left eye with handcuffs used as a club by the colonel and was taken to the Abreu Clinic. According to reports, Paniagua received 15 stitches and might need an operation.
The traders said that Dival Peguero provoked the incident, and trader Teofilo Antonio Diek, 86, was harrassed by Peguero.
The municipal policemen were accused of arriving with an aggressive and provocative attitude, armed with shotguns and wielding pistols.
Leading trader and Chinatown leader Rosa Ng called Peguero's behavior "brutal and unjustifiable," according to El Caribe.
Municipal sources said that Peguero hit Paniagua after he hit one of the policemen.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
The resistance began at 11 in the morning with a peaceful protest against Mayor Roberto Salcedo's parking prohibition until 7 January.
In response to the disturbance, a Municipal Police contingent headed by Colonel Dival Peguero arrived at 2pm to restore order and remove the vehicles. This resulted in verbal and physical confrontation between the traders and police.
The president of the Chinatown Traders Association, Juan Paniagua, was beaten without provocation, according to his associates, by Dival Peguero. He was hit in the left eye with handcuffs used as a club by the colonel and was taken to the Abreu Clinic. According to reports, Paniagua received 15 stitches and might need an operation.
The traders said that Dival Peguero provoked the incident, and trader Teofilo Antonio Diek, 86, was harrassed by Peguero.
The municipal policemen were accused of arriving with an aggressive and provocative attitude, armed with shotguns and wielding pistols.
Leading trader and Chinatown leader Rosa Ng called Peguero's behavior "brutal and unjustifiable," according to El Caribe.
Municipal sources said that Peguero hit Paniagua after he hit one of the policemen.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)