An Indian migrant was allegedly assaulted by a group of young people at a restaurant in Hobart on Saturday morning.
33-year-old Li Max Joy is pursuing a nursing course and drives a cab part time on weekends.
On Saturday morning, after driving his cab through the night, he stopped over at McDonald’s restaurant in North Hobart for coffee.
Li saw a group of five arguing with the store manager. They soon turned their attention towards him.
Li dropped the idea of having coffee and walked back to his car, when this group, which included a girl, followed him and allegedly hurled abuse at him and assaulted him.
“Three of those boys punched me in the face and said, ‘You bloody black Indian ****, why are you here?’,” Li tells SBS Hindi.
The assault left him bleeding from the corner of his eye and bruised.
Source: Supplied
Source: Supplied
Li went inside the restaurant to take shelter. While the restaurant called police, Li took his phone out to take photos of these alleged assailants.
"One of the boys who was wearing a blue hat saw it and came back inside and hit me," Li said.
Li was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital with bleeding wounds. A CAT scan and x-ray were carried out to see if he had suffered any internal injuries.
He was later discharged from hospital.
Li claims he was punched 30 to 40 times that morning. He has reported the incident to police. Police have not yet made any arrests.
Li hails from Kottayam, Kerala and has lived in Hobart for eight years with his family.
He has also sent a detailed email to India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the incident.
