A week after a racial attack on a priest from Kerala who was stabbed in the neck in a Melbourne church, another Indian was allegedly assaulted by a group of teenagers who also hurled racial abuses at him in Tasmania on Saturday.
Part-time driver Li Max Joy, from Kerala’s Kottayam district, stopped at McDonald’s for coffee when he saw the five accused in an argument with a worker. They then attacked him.
Joy told Times of India, “The youngster walking in front was continuously abusing the store manager and when he saw me started shouting at me saying “You black Indian ...”. Even before I could realise what was happening, the person punched me on my face twice. The others joined him and I lost count of the punches I received.”
Others around telephoned police and the group left, but they returned later and assaulted him again.
Joy was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital with bleeding wounds. He was later discharged from hospital and he reported the incident to police.
Joy, who has been living in Hobart for the last eight years with his wife and kid, was quoted as saying by Australian media that “the racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police”.
He has sought intervention of the External Affairs Ministry to ensure punishment to the accused and alleged that there was no serious efforts from the authorities to bring the guilty to justice.
Meanwhile, Kottayam Lok Sabha MP Jose K Mani condemned the incident and said he will raise the issue with the External Affairs Ministry on Monday.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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