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A trio of drunk men ambushed and beat up an employee of a bar at Prinsep Street, in an incident that took place around 10.45pm on Thursday (7 Jan). The attack was captured by the nearby CCTV cameras and the surveillance footage began circulating online over the weekend.

The 25-year-old bar employee reportedly stepped out into the back alley behind the bar to dispose of the night’s trash when he ran into the three young men. The CCTV footage shows a man in a white shirt and two others in black assaulting the victim.

The man in white acted first and rushed towards the employee. As the victim kept moving back, the man in white pushed him with his right hand before slapping him across the face in the unprovoked attack. The two others then joined the fray – one of the assailants punched the victim on his left cheek while the other struck him across the back of his head.

A security guard who witnessed the incident told the Chinese daily that the victim was taking out the trash when the three young men walked past him. Although the men did not seem to know each other, the guard said that they seemed provoked by the way the innocent bar staff looked at them.

The eyewitness said that the trio – who appeared to be drunk – became angered when the victim informed them that there is a surveillance camera nearby. They flew into a rage and assaulted the bar staff, who rushed into the bar for safety.

Two individuals who were in the area – an on-duty security guard and a uniformed soldier – stepped in to help. The security guard stayed with the victim inside while the soldier persuaded the men outside to leave. The incident reportedly lasted five minutes, according to the guard who spoke to the Chinese daily.

Another eyewitness who works nearby told the publication that the assailants had already left by the time the police arrived but more than 10 police officers remained at the scene for about two hours, investigating the incident. He added that the victim’s left eye was swollen but he did not suffer any other serious injuries.

Police investigations are ongoing.