UK: Man beats Indian-origin woman after abusing her Chinese friend over coronavirus

An Indian-origin woman was beaten by an unidentified man after she tried to save her Chinese friend from racist attack over the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Meera Solanka, a 29-year-old trainee lawyer, was out with her friends, including 28-year-old Mandy Huang, to celebrate her birthday when the incident occurred.

According to a local daily, Solanka was having drinks with her friends and another group of Asian men were present at the same venue. Solanka said that one of the Asian men seemed to have some problem with her being an Indian girl celebrating with multi-racial group of friends. "Take your f****** coronavirus back home!” said the man to the Chinese woman, targeting her for the virus outbreak in China.

The man started harassing Mandy, abusing her for her Chinese origin, and calling named like ‘dirty chink’. Solanka was shocked at the racial abuse and shouted back at him angrily to stop him and push him away. The trainee lawyer alleged that the man punched her in the head and she hit the pavement felling unconscious.

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Police investigating the case

The 29-year-old said that she was shocked and horrified by his aggressive behaviour and horrific words. According to Solanka, the man kept abusing the group of friends even after she fell unconscious and then walked away with his friends. She was rushed to a hospital for concussion treatment. West Midlands Police are investigating the assault case and has described the attacker as an Asian man of large build, wearing a flat cap and hoodie at the scene. 

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China is witnessing a continuous rise in the coronavirus cases and according to the latest report, the total death toll because of the deadly virus has reached nearly 2,600. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including Italy, Japan and the Philippines, have also now reported deaths related to COVID-19.

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(With PTI inputs)