KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A crowd of Chinese onlookers heckled and hit
a Japanese family with inflated plastic batons Monday after the three
unfurled a Tibetan flag before the start of the Malaysian leg of the
Olympic torch relay.
The family, comprising two adults and a boy, was detained by police,
who also took a Buddhist monk and a British woman wearing a "Free-
Tibet" T-****rt into custody. All five were later released.
Scenes captured by a television cameraman showed some of the Chinese
sup****ters striking the family members with plastic blow-up batons
that they were carrying to celebrate the occasion.
Meanwhile in Japan, organizers said Saturday's torch relay in Nagano
will start in a parking lot after a major Buddhist temple backed out
of the event over security concerns and sympathy for Tibetans.
