Apple employee, customer reach settlement after Beijing iPad brawl

Police officers reported recently that a settlement has been reached through mediation in the case of a foreign Apple employee who allegedly beat a customer in front of the Sanlitun Village Apple Store in Beijing as customers lined up for the release of the iPad 2.

On May 8, police officers of Chaoyang District in Beijing confirmed that the attacker was the head of Sanlitun Apple Store. Now, the attacker has reached a settlement through mediation with the victim. The foreign attacker will pay a total of more than 20,000 yuan to the victim for medical costs and nutrition costs. In addition, the police officers have criticized the attacker but did not detain him because the incident did not meet the requirements for security detention.

At 3 p.m. on May 7, dozens of customers lined up in front of the store to purchase iPad 2. Witnesses said that so many people, including scalpers, were jumping the queue, causing chaos on the scene. The staff workers of the Apple store tried to keep order several times. Suddenly, a foreigner rushed out of the store and began beating a man down to the ground until his waist bled. Another man and a woman were also caught up in his attack. And then, a customer called the police.

The victim said he was in line with his mother to buy the white iPhone 4 when the attacker dragged him more than 10 meters and dropped him on the ground. "The attacker was over 190 centimeters tall and strong," he said. His mother had also been jostled by the attacker, according to Beijing Times.

In response to the dispute, Apple said in a statement: "The Apple Store Sanlitun was closed for several hours on Saturday after a group outside the store became unruly. The store team acted to protect themselves and our customers by closing the doors and preventing the group from entering. The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority."

The Chaoyang police claimed that they received a report about a fight that had broken out at Sanlitun Apple Store at 3:10 p.m. on May 7. Police officers rushed to the spot and found after a preliminary investigation that the attacker was a foreigner as well as the head of the Apple Store. As for the fighting, the foreigner laid the blame on scalpers and those people who had jumped the queue.

After questioning the witnesses and watching the surveillance video, police officers affirmed that there were people jumping the queue at the spot. However, they said they can not affirm whether the beaten man is a scalper or not.

In addition, the police said the man was not injured seriously. The foreigner and the injured man came to an agreement after mediation.

By Ye Xin, People's Daily Online

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