Singaporean student in London bashed in coronavirus-linked attack

They texted almost daily, so the couple were worried when their youngest son, who is studying in Britain, did not contact them for a week.

When he finally replied on Monday night, Mr Mok Thye Wai, 58, and his wife were shocked to find out that he had been beaten up in a coronavirus-linked racist attack.

A group of young men had accused Mr Jonathan Mok, 23, of bringing the virus into their country as they bashed him in Oxford Street, one of the busiest streets in London.

His parents got a bigger shock when they saw his badly bruised right eye during a video call.

Mr Mok, who is in the interior design business, told The New Paper yesterday evening: "I didn't think it was that serious until I Facetimed him and saw his face. He didn't want to worry us so he had kept it to himself."

While their son, a final-year law student at University College London, is feeling better now, the couple intend to fly to London this week to see him.

Mr Mok said: "We weren't planning to go over in July to attend his graduation. Now my wife wants to stay until then.

"But he needs to focus on his studies so it will probably be just a couple of days."

The Metropolitan Police in London told TNP that they are investigating the racially aggravated assault, which took place near the Tottenham Court Road tube station at about 9.15pm local time on Feb 24.

No arrests have been made, but inquiries to identify the suspects, including the use of available closed-circuit television footage, are ongoing.

Mr Mok said his son was walking home with a female friend after dinner when the group attacked him.

The younger Mr Mok gave his account of the incident in a Facebook post yesterday, saying the attack had left him bruised, bloodied, and possibly needing reconstructive surgery for facial fractures.

He said the assailants looked to be 20 or younger and were more than a head taller than him.

As he walked past them, he heard one of them mention "coronavirus" in a racist remark, so he turned to look at him.

The man shouted "Don't you dare look at me, you..." and punched him in the face twice as passers-by intervened.

Another man tried to kick him and said, "I don't want your coronavirus in my country", before punching him in the face again, splattering blood on the pavement.

The group fled before the police arrived.

The younger Mr Mok told The Straits Times that people in a nearby souvenir shop tried to defuse the situation, and he has visited the shop to thank them.

"I always felt that London was one of the most open places, and this incident doesn't change the fact that most people are nice," he told ST.

"But even with a minority of people (who engage in this behaviour), it is a very serious problem."

A University College London spokesperson said: “We are horrified to hear about this unprovoked racially-motivated attack on a member of our community. We thoroughly condemn this attack and are offering our full support to the student at this time. We condemn racism, bullying and harassment of any kind.

“Should any student feel they have been subjected to such behaviour, we would encourage them to report any incident to the police in the first instance and to the university by speaking to a tutor, a member of UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Team, or use our online ‘Report + Support’ tool, which has an anonymous reporting function.

“Students who are living in UCL-managed accommodation have additional support from a team of Wardens and Student Residence Advisers. UCL also has a range of support services for students including 24/7 counselling services for anyone affected.”

The global Covid-19 crisis has exposed Singaporeans abroad to bad experiences with racism and xenophobia.

Ms Lia Tan, 22, told TNP last week that she saw "No Foreigners" signs in stores in the South Korean city of Busan.

She and her family were travelling ahead of her exchange programme at Yonsei University, which has since been suspended.

The second-year Nanyang Technological University student said that during their four days there, people in the city turned away from them when they could not speak Korean.

Ms Tan added: "A restaurant owner covertly passed us a slip of paper telling us not to speak in Mandarin."

The younger Mr Mok, who has two sisters, said several racist statements had been directed at him in past weeks, some referencing the coronavirus.

"Racists constantly find excuses to expound their hatred - and in this current backdrop of the coronavirus, they've found yet another excuse...

"Why should I keep quiet when someone makes a racist remark towards me?" he wrote in his post, which has been shared more than 28,000 times.

He told ST it was important to share his views and start a debate.

"Race issues have been prevalent for so long, and this shows how dangerous they can be... Even when they start off verbally, they can escalate to physical violence," he added.

His father's biggest concern is his son being picked on again. He hopes the police can nab the culprits as soon as possible.

He said: "He is not the first victim, but I hope he will be the last."

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OSMOND CHIA