The Straits Times reported on 19 April about an attack and attempted robbery on a 21-year-old Singaporean student, Raymond Hing (pictured).
The incident took place around 10 April at 1am and Hing’s ordeal was caught on a livestream by YouTuber, Sherwin.
This Sherwin is a hero. Here’s the quick cut of incident:
Right here is the full clip. The incident happened around the 6-hour mark of the 7-hour long livestream:
Read the ST report for the details. This incident comes amid the rising number of hate crimes on Asians in some western countries.
In the US, it had led to the #StopAsianHate movement. Such stories really grate at me because I’m reminded of my own brushes with racism
Many Singaporeans venture to western countries like the US, UK, and Australia to study and experience life elsewhere.
So, when incidents like this happens, it really puts a dampener on the overseas cultural experience.
Yes, some of these could be just cases of hooliganism, but I think (a) being Asian, (b) therefore, possibly foreign, and (c) perceived as not likely to aggressively fight back or receive help; all this factored into the attackers’ mind when he tried to robbed Raymond from this bike.
In March 2020, reports surfaced of another Singaporean student, Jonathan Mok, who was attacked in a racially-aggravated incident.
Such stories grate at me because it reminds me of my own brushes with racism as an Asian student in the US. I write about this in the introduction and the first two chapters of my book, about the need for more diverse newsrooms and for storytellers to tell more stories about Asia.
Also, I would like to salute people like Sherwin for stepping in. Here’s a clip of him getting a well deserved reward: