15-year-old charged with assault on Singaporean student in London

London — The Metropolitan Police has charged a 15-year-old teen for the alleged attack on a 23-year-old Singaporean overseas student.

The Met said on Saturday (July 18) in response to a query from CNA that the teen’s  charge was for “wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent” for the “racially aggravated assault” on the student, Mr Jonathan Mok , on Feb 24 this year.

The 15-year-old, who has not been named because he is a juvenile, is set to appear in the Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Aug 10.

Meanwhile, another teen — aged 16 — who was also arrested in connection with the alleged crime, has been released with no charges or further action on his case. Two other alleged attackers have yet to be identified.

According to Mr Mok, the attack took place in a London street after a group of four people started shouting “coronavirus”. He decided to turn around and confront them but, he said, “all of a sudden, the first punch was swung at my face and took me by surprise”.

The attackers shouted that they did not want “your coronavirus” in their country before they fled the scene.

Mr Mok posted photos of his injuries on his Facebook page. He said his face was “exploding with blood” due to the attack and that he was left in “daze and shock”.

When police arrived at around 9.15 pm, the four attackers were already long gone. The CNA report shared that the Metropolitan Police revealed in its press release that the victim was “punched and kicked, and sustained facial injuries”.

The London authorities and the Singapore High Commission have been in contact “at the highest level” to make sure that the investigations are followed through.

Mr Mok feels that some people have used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to fuel “further hatred for people different from them. I just think it’s a pity to have such experiences taint the image of this beautiful city with so many nice people”.

He added: “I felt really angry… It is ridiculous people are being targeted for being Asian.”

Mr Mok has thanked all those who sent him support.

He said: “I appreciate all the support I’ve been getting and I’m glad that this issue has sparked a debate about racism. Many people recognise that racism exists in any form/colour. Racism exists in every country. Demonising a certain group of people because of their nationality/race/skin colour even in this case is unacceptable and only furthers the problem.”

As the case is ongoing, he has removed some details about the incident to allow the police to continue with their investigations.

See his post here. /TISG