Attacker gets 18-month youth rehabilitation order

The 16-year-old behind a racial attack on a Singaporean - who was then an undergraduate in London - was given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order on Wednesday.

A British court also ordered the teenager to adhere to an electronically monitored curfew from 8pm to 7am and pay £600 (S$1,100) compensation to Mr Jonathan Mok, who had to undergo facial surgery.

On Feb 24 last year, Mr Mok, then 23 and a final-year University College of London law student, was told that "we don't want your coronavirus in our country" and beaten up in Oxford Street in an "unprovoked attack", the court heard.

During the hearing on Wednesday, chairman of the bench Mervyn Mandell said that had the 16-year-old been an adult, he "would have gone to jail for a very long time".

"This was an unprovoked attack for no reason other than his (Mr Mok's) appearance," he said.

The prosecutor, Mr Simon Maughan, said the youth was "quick to get involved" in the group attack, the BBC reported.

The teenager was found guilty of causing racially aggravated grievous bodily harm following a trial at Highbury Corner Youth Court earlier this month after the Metropolitan Police in London investigated the case as a racially motivated assault.

No one else has been charged in connection with the attack.

A victim impact statement read out on behalf of Mr Mok said the crime had "taken a heavy toll" on him and his family.

He added: "My legal education had to be halted for a month due to surgery and follow-up medical appointments. I have anxiety and have problems sleeping. I believe the defendant is a threat to Singaporeans and South-east Asians. He has shown no remorse."

The defence lawyer, Mr Gerard Pitt, said his client had turned himself in following a police appeal that included images pulled from closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in March last year.

Mr Pitt said: "He has always maintained he did not say anything about coronavirus and that was vindicated at the court trial."

The court heard the boy had no prior convictions, but had two youth cautions for common assault. Before being sentenced on Wednesday, he said: "When I saw the picture (of the victim's injuries), I felt disgusted. I apologise for my actions."

Mr Mok is one of many ethnic Chinese who were targeted in Europe and the United States by those who linked the coronavirus with people from China, especially in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the incident, he wrote in a Facebook post, which has since been edited to remove details of the attack, that he turned around to face the group after he heard them say "coronavirus" as he walked past them that night. One of those in the group of five, which included a girl, then punched him in the face and said "I don't want your coronavirus in my country" before they fled.

He told The Straits Times then: "I thought it was important to share and start the 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 had written in his post: "Why should anyone, simply because of the colour of their skin, be subjected to abuse, in any form, verbal or physical? Why should I keep quiet when someone makes a racist remark towards me?"

He also said: "Racism is not stupidity - racism is hate. Racists constantly find excuses to expound their hatred - and (against) this current backdrop of the coronavirus, they've found yet another excuse."