Asian man attacked and robbed by thugs 'shouting coronavirus' in south-west London

Police are appealing after an Asian man was attacked and robbed by two teenagers as they reportedly shouted “coronavirus” in south-west London.

Pawat Silawattakun, 24, had just arrived at his bus stop in Fulham Road when he says two thugs hurled insults at him before breaking his nose.

“I’d just got off the bus at Fulham when I heard a faint sound directed at me from my left across the street,” he told the Observer.

“I had these noise-cancelling headphones on and took them off as these guys just shouted ‘Coronavirus! Coronavirus! Ha, ha!’ in my face while filming me.”

“I didn’t get a chance to say anything – ‘Please stop’, or ‘Why are you doing this?’ – when one of them snatched the headphones from my neck.”

The tax consultant chased the teens down the road, but as they reached some traffic islands, one turned around and punched Mr Silawattakun in the face.

“There was blood everywhere,” he added.

Mr Silawattakun said he shouted for help, but no one around him seemed to care. Eventually two people helped him take an Uber to hospital

The Met has launched an investigation into the aggravated robbery.

A spokeswoman said: “The victim, a 24-year-old man, reported being racially abused by an unknown male suspect in Fulham Road.

“A second male suspect then approached the victim from behind and stole his headphones, and then assaulted him. The victim sustained a broken nose and received hospital treatment.

“The incident happened at around 5.15pm on Saturday, February 8.”

No arrest has been made at this stage and enquiries continue.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting 5823/08FEB20 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.