Police investigate Asian Cup crowd violence

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese police are investigating crowd violence that followed Japan's victory over China in the finals of the Asian Cup soccer tournament in Beijing earlier this month, a government spokesman said Friday.

"Mobbing and vandalism are strictly prohibited by Chinese law, and police will mete out penalties to those responsible in accordance with the law," Public Security Ministry spokesman Hao Chiyong was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Alarmed by rising anti-Japanese sentiment among Chinese fans, authorities assigned thousands of riot police to Beijing's Workers' Stadium for the Aug. 7 game, which Japan won 3-1. Many Chinese remain deeply resentful over Japan's brutal World War II invasion, feelings stoked by frequent confrontational reports in Chinese state media.

After the final whistle, crowds chanting anti-Japanese insults broke bottles, burned Japanese flags, and exchanged kicks and punches with police outside the stadium. Debris was thrown at the Japanese team's bus and Japanese fans attending the match were kept inside the stadium for hours until they were taken out on city buses. At least three Chinese men were detained.

"Extreme behavior on and off the soccer pitch has taken place in many countries, including China, in recent years, which we are not willing to see but take place anyway," Xinhua quoted Cao as saying.

The Xinhua report made no mention of any investigation into the assault of an Associated Press photographer, who was beaten on the head with a truncheon by plainclothes officers, opening a gash that required eight stitches to close.

A photographer from the Agence France Presse news agency was also assaulted by police, but suffered no serious injuries.