Post #562543 by bigbrotiki on Sat, Oct 30, 2010 10:49 AM

Oh, bad news: Owner Stephen Tong lost his brother in a shooting during an attempted robbery at the Tai Ping in 1974 !:

[Crim. Nos. 26693, 26782. Court of Appeals of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five. November 10, 1975.]

The incident occurred at the Tai Ping Restaurant in Los Angeles on April 8, 1974, at about 11 p.m. The murder victim was Joseph Tong, the attempted robbery victim was Beverly Tong, and the assault victim was Stephen Tong.

Frederick Brown, a liquor store owner who knew defendant as a customer, observed defendant and another man in the Tai Ping Restaurant at about 11 p.m. They walked past the table at which Brown and his wife were seated. A few minutes later, Brown heard some noise and observed defendant and two restaurant workers struggling near the entrance door. Defendant was wearing a jacket and a cap.

The victim of the attempted robbery, Beverly Tong, was working at the Tai Ping Restaurant as a hostess and a cashier. Joseph Tong, her uncle, and Stephen Tong, her father, were standing near her. At about 11 p.m., three black males wearing leather jackets and dark pants entered the restaurant and walked toward the restroom area. Then defendant came over to the register, took out a gun, and asked Beverly to take the money out of the cash register. At that point, defendant was standing between Joseph and Stephen. Beverly started taking the money out of the register. Defendant reached for it and a struggle followed, in which Stephen tried to get the weapon away from defendant. Joseph tried to help Stephen. The three men, still struggling, went through the door. Beverly heard one shot, followed by eight shots.

Meantime, defendant kept dragging Stephen and Joseph back toward the door. A shot was fired; at that time Stephen's hand was still on defendant's gun and the three of them were wrestling. After they got onto the patio, Stephen saw two men come out and point guns at their heads. They said "words to the effect, 'Hold it,'" and Stephen yelled to his brother, "Back up, Joe." Stephen and Joseph let defendant go and the three men, all armed, backed up a little bit and started shooting from a distance of about 10 feet. Stephen stood there frozen. After firing a volley of shots, the three men started running toward the parking area. Stephen heard about 10 or 12 shots. He saw the men jump over a wall. He then went back to the restaurant. Stephen did not see his brother. Joseph was found lying by a stairway, shot in the back. He died from the wound. [52 Cal.App.3d 951]

L.A. stories...So much for an "exciting" urban paradise :( I am only assuming this, but that kind of blow would be good enough reason for any owner to get the hell out of there to forget about it all...