- Student robbed while bleeding only arrived in England a month ago
- Police identify one suspect who allegedly mugged injured Ashraf Haziq
- Well-wishers organise online fund to fly student’s parents to UK to visit son
By
Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 9:10 AM on 11th August 2011
The student who was beaten up in the riots and then mugged as he struggled to his feet told yesterday how his attackers – some as young as 11 – threatened to stab him.
Sickening video footage of a mob surrounding Mohammed Ashraf Haziq has been shown around the world after being posted on YouTube.
Mr Haziq, who won a scholarship to study here, relived his ordeal from his hospital bed when he was visited by a friend who filmed the chat and posted it online.
Recovering: Mr Haziq is seen in his hospital bed at Royal London
Hospital, where he is awaiting surgery on a broken jaw after the sickening
attack
Riot victim: Accountancy student Mohammed Ashraf Haziq, 20, had only arrived in Britain a month ago. Here he is pictured at home in Malaysia. Right he is sitting with his eight-year-old brother Mohammed Fatiri
Injuries: Mr Haziq still has facial swelling after the attack and can be seen missing several front teeth after having his jaw broken
‘They threatened to stab me, they told me they had knives,’ he says in the footage.
‘Some of them were quite young, maybe still in primary school. They had their hoods on and demanded my bicycle.’
In the YouTube video, the student,
bloody and dazed after being punched to ground, is apparently helped to
his feet by a Good Samaritan.
But the thugs then plunder his rucksack,
taking his wallet, phone and Sony PSP games console.
The video was even mentioned by David Cameron yesterday.
‘When we see children as young as 13,
looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured
young man with people pretending to help him while they are robbing him,
it is clear that there are things that are badly wrong in our society,’
said the Prime Minister.
The 20-year-old finance student’s jaw
was broken in the attack and he is due to have surgery at the Royal
London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London. He also lost some of his
teeth. His injuries mean he is unable to eat properly and he is being
fed via a hospital drip.
At the family’s home in the affluent
suburb of Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, his mother Maznah Abu Mansor, 47, said
she was horrified by the attack. The mother-of-three, a school official,
said she was ‘very sad and upset’ and appealed to the Malaysian
government to help her to travel to London to see her son.
She said: ‘I was initially very worried but I’m glad that he is all right.’
Dazed and confused, blood dripping from his mouth, Ashraf Haziq is encircled by thugs after being savagely beaten to the ground during the violence in London
From nowhere, an apparent Good Samaritan walks up and lends a hand to help heave the struggling and injured victim up from the pavement
Lowest of the low: The teenager continues to tend to the wounds on his face as thieves make off with the contents of his rucksack
Lawless: A robber shamelessly rifles through the teenager’s bag as the young man stands bleeding from the face
Discarded: The robber, having taken the items from the teenager’s bag, then casually throws them to the floor before strolling away
Mr Haziq arrived in London last month
to study at Kaplan College in Tower Hill, East London. He was cycling
from his student accommodation in Barking with a friend when they saw a
mob coming towards them.
His friend managed to escape but said
the 20-strong gang blocked Mr Haziq’s path and knocked him to the
ground before taking his bicycle.
He has told friends he passed out
from the force of the blow. It was when he tried to move away that he
was mugged. Bystander Abdul Hamid, 23, who filmed the YouTube footage,
said: ‘I wanted to go down and help but I was terrified that I would get
beaten up as well. There was about 50 or more of them.’
Aftermath: Mr Haziq is caught on camera moments later, standing confused and alone at the side of the street
Campaign: A website has been set up in the hope of gathering donations to make a gesture towards Ashraf Haziq after the ordeal he went through
Getting better: Mr Haziq is being treated at Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, following the attack
Well-wishers are organising an appeal
for the student, though last night it was unclear if it would be led by
those who set up the fund website –
http://somethingniceforashraf.tumblr.com – or by the Malaysian High
Commission.
Former aid worker Jamie Cowen who set
up the internet appeal insisted the money raised would go to Mr Haziq
and any surplus would be given to ‘other London riots-related causes’.
He added: ‘I and thousands of other
British people are disgusted that this happened in our country and want
to do something nice for Ashraf to show to him and his country that only
a tiny minority of us are scumbags.’
Within hours of the website launching, it had received more than 17,000 pledges of support.
Author: Chief Editor
Nigerian Community,News, Events and more
