Social media has been gripped by a video of a shirtless bodybuilder who lost control inside a convenience store in Taiwan and had to be subdued by police using truncheons. - Photo: SCMP composite/handout
TAIPEI, May 28 (South China Morning Post): An online video of a beefy topless man losing control inside a Taiwan convenience store has gripped social media.
The dramatic clip, which has been widely circulated online on the island and in Hong Kong, shows a shirtless, muscular man screaming in anger inside a 7-Eleven convenience store on May 21.
According to media reports in Taiwan, the man, surnamed Zhu, is a 28-year-old fitness instructor and bodybuilder.
One reason for his anger was the fact that his favourite Italian black pepper-flavoured chicken breast dish was sold out.
An online observer who claimed to be at the scene said that Zhu was frustrated to learn that his favourite dish was sold out and began berating the shop assistant.
Then Zhu blew his top, began shouting and screaming inside the store before throwing produce from the shelves onto the floor.
At this point, a shop assistant called the police.
The police arrived and found four packs of herb-flavoured chicken breasts available, but this failed to satisfy Zhu, who then turned his anger on the officers by trying to beat them up.
The out-of-control fitness instructor screamed at shop staff, then attacked police because his favourite chicken dish was out of stock. - Photo: SCMP
He was eventually subdued and arrested after an officer struck him with his truncheon, drawing blood from Zhu’s upper body.
The online photos have sparked questions in Taiwan about whether the police overreacted.
In Hong Kong, however, online observers mocked Zhu’s antics.
Several people said the fitness instructor looked like a Taiwanese version of the television and movie character “Hulk”. Others said he reminded them of the character “Saiyan” from the Japanese manga series Dragon Ball.
Another clip shows a second shop assistant running through the debris-strewn store and trying to stop someone filming the incident.
One Hong Kong online observer criticised the employee, saying: “He doesn’t care about the shop. He cares about other people taking videos.”
After the video went viral, people who claimed to know Zhu offered different explanations to why he lost control.
One said Zhu “lost it” after he was “caught cheating on his girlfriend”.
Another claimed he proposed to his girlfriend on May 20, a day which sounds like “I love you” in Mandarin, but was rejected.
Zhu has yet to offer a public explanation for his actions. - South China Morning Post
