Perilous
Times
Five dead in Philippine karaoke attack
* From correspondents in Manila
* From: AFP
* September 21, 2011 1:40PM
FIVE people have been killed and seven others were wounded when a
grenade was thrown into a busy karaoke bar in the Philippines.
Two attackers on a motorcycle rode up to the karaoke bar last
night in La Paz, a small farming town about two hours' drive north
of Manila, and one of them hurled the grenade, police said.
The motive for the attack was not known, and no arrests have been
made, said Robert Calacal, a police investigator in La Paz, which
has about 50,000 residents.
"Attacks such as these are rare in this town," Mr Calacal said by
telephone.
He said the blast happened during the busiest time of the evening
for the bar, killing five customers and clients, all of them
Filipinos. A national police spokesman in Manila said another
seven people were injured.
The karaoke bar was a small, "hole-in-the-wall", establishment on
the side of a highway normally frequented by poor locals in the
area such as farmers, construction workers and clerks.
Karaoke is a national passion in the Philippines, but disputes are
common and armed patrons have been known to shoot friends for
off-key singing or for refusing to share the microphone, while
deadly brawls can erupt for criticising a singer from another
table.