A teenager yesterday admitted to beating up Singaporean student Jonathan Mok in London earlier this year and is expected to be sentenced next month.
The unnamed 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty in a London courthouse to wounding or causing grievous bodily harm without intent. He was not charged with racially aggravated assault although the prosecutor said that Mok believed he was attacked due to his ethnicity, British media reported.
The accused was walking along Oxford Street with a group of friends on the night of Feb. 24 when Mok, a University College London student, said he heard someone telling him “we don’t want your coronavirus in our country.”
Singapore High Commission in London ‘deeply disturbed’ by attack on studen
When Mok turned to look at the group, someone from the same group said “don’t you look at me” before throwing punches and kicks at Mok, fracturing his nose and cheekbone. Mok later posted selfies of his bruised face to Facebook, where they were shared thousands of times.
It was not clear whether the accused had said those words to Mok. The prosecutor also said that the teen was quiet during police interviews until CCTV images of the scene were showed to him. He then said: “You can’t even see me hit him.”
The teenager is the first from the group to be charged in the incident. UK police previously released images of three suspects.
Related:
Singaporean describes savage London beating due to virus-fueled racism
UK releases images of suspects in Singaporean student ‘coronavirus’ attack
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