Singaporean student beaten up on London street in racist attack

“I don’t want your coronavirus in my country,” one of the attackers told him.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak going global, a Singaporean student in London may require reconstructive surgery after being the victim of a racist attack.

Jonathan Mok, a 23-year-old student at the University College London says that he was walking down Oxford Street in London on February 24 when he heard a group of three or four young men direct a comment towards him that included the word “coronavirus.”

When Mok turned around, one of the youths shouted “Don’t you dare look at me” before they all approached Mok and started throwing punches.

Mok says that he was punched in the face twice during the assault with one of the men telling him “I don’t want your coronavirus in my country.”

The group ran off before police arrived. Mok was left with a bloody nose and some fractures to his face. He says that he may require reconstructive surgery for the injuries.

Mok has criticized the police, saying that afterward he had spoken to shop owners near the scene of the attack and they said that police had yet to contact them about surveillance footage.

London police have confirmed to the media that they are investigating the incident, which they are treating as a “racially aggravated assault.” They have asked any witnesses to come forward.

For his part, Mok says that he refuses to be intimidated by racist hatred, writing on Facebook: