A middle-aged Canadian man pummeled his Taiwanese girlfriend to the ground in Taipei midnight on Sunday, but the woman refused to press charges. (sour... A middle-aged Canadian man pummeled his Taiwanese girlfriend to the ground in Taipei midnight on Sunday, but the woman refused to press charges. (source: Hibr Domestic violence) (Agencies photo)

A middle-aged Canadian man pummeled his Taiwanese girlfriend to the ground in open view of many bystanders in Taipei around midnight on Sunday, but the victim refused to press charges.

Witnesses of the scuffle reported the incident to local police, who arrived at the scene shortly after they received the report and immediately separated the couple and sent the injured woman to hospital. There was also closed circuit security camera video footage of part of the incident in which a man, who fits the description from eyewitness accounts, can be seen brutally clotheslining a woman from behind at a crosswalk.

According to an investigation by the police, the couple has been reported to have been involved in physical conflicts with each other after drinking on three previous occasions. However, each time after they sobered up, neither party would press charges.

According to police investigation, the 24-year-old woman surnamed Chen, who is a college student in Taipei, and her 40-year-old Canadian boyfriend, who was only identified by his first name "Dennis," had an argument on the street at the intersection of Keelung Road and Leye Street. The argument soon escalated into a brawl that resulted in the woman being pummeled to the ground by the man and her glasses being shattered on the sidewalk. There were also traces of blood on the paper bag she left behind, police said.

Police took the Canadian national back to the station for questioning and filing a police report.

Police said they have received reports from the couple's neighbors many times, and that Chen was often beaten by her boyfriend but has never taken legal action against him, including this time.

Authorities have reported the case to the city's Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and contacted social workers to visit the woman.

Chen's parents told police that Chen had had many altercations with her foreign boyfriend and been battered many times in the past, and they had tried to persuade her to break up with him, but to no avail. She even planned to marry Dennis. The parents said, “We can’t help because she has fallen in love. We can only wish her a happy life.”