A robbery case on the train of Sydney has sparked some rippling effect among the Chinese locally and abroad. As a result, I wrote a letter to the DPP of New South Wales to reflect my displeasure.
The
Director of Public Prosecutions
New South
Wales
Dear Sir,
As an
Australian citizen of Chinese descendant, I am shocked to read the news about 2
Chinese International students robbed and assaulted on the train from Central to
Rockdale in the early hours of 23 April, 2012. The Sydney Morning Herald
reported that this incident prompted an online fury in China. Frankly, it is
not my concern. Robbery cases happen around the world. Australia is not
immuned. I am only concerned about the racist taunts in the course of the
robbery. One of the victims described the incident in his blog,
"They were calling us Asian dogs and
pussies while they were beating us. When my friend tried to wipe blood from his
nose, a teenaged girl stuffed my friend's mouth with her tampon removed from
her pants.
(excerpt from Sydney Morning Herald 26/4/2012)
I write
with the intention of asking the prosecution office to sufficiently present the
facts of the case to court. Even though it is uncommon in the common law system
for the prosecution to address the court on quantum of sentence, there are
features in this case I would respectfully point out aggravating the
seriousness of the case.
First of
all, I would urge you to consider the venue of trial to be the District Court
in light of the gravity of the facts in this case. The victims in this case
were not only threatened with the use of force in the course of the robbery,
they were actually bashed and burned. Both victims sustained grievous bodily
harm not to mention the humiliation of being gagged with the tampon pulled out
from the pants of one of the female assailants. While the actual use of force in
robbery cases is not as agonising as unnecessary and deliberately acts of
insults, the racist taunts in this case by the defendants warrant the
enhancement of sentence upon conviction.
In R v JW [2010]NSWCCA49 (22 March
2010), the majority of the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales remarked
in paragraph 207 of the judgment that
It is
important to bear in mind that the offences were committed by a group of young
men on persons using the public transport system at night. There is no doubt
that in the first offence the group were waiting for a likely candidate to rob
as he made his way through a secluded park from the station. The group then
went to another station and again selected a likely victim and chased him to
his home. But even there he was not safe. Crimes of violence committed in those
circumstances warranted severe punishment notwithstanding the age of members of
the group or the other sentencing principles that apply to the sentencing of
young offenders. Persons who are required to use public transport at night
should be considered as vulnerable and protected by the sentences imposed in
the courts.
I cannot agree more with the observations
of the court. The sentencing principle in the appeal applies to the instant
case. So far, I have not seen any statement of condemnation from the state
government. The absence of which can lead people to think the government gives
its tacit tolerance to the atrocity of these hooligans. The purpose of this discussion is
not to flare up hostility or racist hatred; I just wish the Crown, when
presenting the case in court, not to turn a blind eye to this racist taunts. The inaction of the state government is a disgrace to the promotion
of multi-culturalism and ethnic harmony. I can only urge you to act in the
interest of the Australian people by asking the court to enhance the sentence
of these defendants. There may still be people who do not appreciate how to
uphold and respect the value of people from different ethnic descendants, I can
only ask the victims to magnanimously forgive them. The prosecution, however,
has the duty to bring justice to the society regardless who the victims are.
Enhancing the sentence in this particular case hopefully sends a deterrent
message to other people who venture to transgress the law and target at other
ethnic groups not necessarily Chinese.
At the end of the day when these hooligans
are dealt with, they may plead leniency because of their young age. Young age, in robbery of this gravity, is not a strong mitigating factor. I believe the
witness impact statements will be taken from the victims and presented to court
to fully reflect their physical and psychological trauma of this nightmarish experience.
Thank you.
Bill Siu
Chinese students 'at risk in Australia'
Peter Cai
April 26, 2012
A screen grab of Kevin Rudd's message on Weibo. Six people, aged 14 to 18, allegedly robbed passengers, including two Chinese students, on a train between Central and Rockdale about 12.30am on Monday.
Officers were called to Rockdale station about 15 minutes later, where they arrested three men, two aged 18 and one 19, a 14-year-old boy and two girls, aged 16 and 17.
A picture from Xuan's blog. China Central Television, the state network with hundreds of millions of viewers throughout the country, has warned the rising youth crime rate in Australia posed a threat to the safety of Chinese students.
"Once upon a time, Australia had one of the lowest crime rates in the world and was considered one of the safest places to study. However, the safety of overseas students studying here is under threat from escalating youth crime," CCTV reported.
The news report also alerted viewers to the spate of shootings in Sydney this week and said some cases involved under-aged offenders.
The Chinese consulate-general in Sydney also posted a travel warning on its website and warned its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel after dark.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China was very concerned about the incident and urged Australia to improve its public security.
He refused to comment on whether the Chinese government still considered Australia a safe place for Chinese students to study.
The outrage among the students community is still brewing and Fairfax Media understands that more than 3000 students have signed a petition and are considering the option of staging a rally.
A Chinese mother from Nanjiang expressed her concern over the safety of her child studying in Australia and she said she was "extremely concerned about the safety issue over there. It breaks my heart to hear about my child's fear of going home after dark."
Peak students bodies in Australia have also issued strong statements in support of their overseas peers.
"The train attack on Chinese students in Sydney over the weekend will not be a welcoming prospect for those considering to study in Australia in future and we request an inquiry into making these services safer for our valued international student cohort,” said Chamonix Terblanche, national president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
One of the victims of the attack, known as Xuan, suffered from a fractured nose and burns from a lit cigarette.
The international student from China is seeking a master's degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.
A translation from Xuan's blog on the Chinese social media site Weibo reads: "I really wish all of this is just a nightmare. However, the smell of blood in my mouth and body pains reminds me that this city is so dangerous.
"A gang of hooligans attacked us. Our noses are fractured and our bodies are covered in blood. My friend's cheekbone was crushed. They attacked us with glass and burnt us with lit cigarettes. My face is burnt and totally disfigured! Worst of all, I really hated their racist comments.
"They were calling us Asian dogs and pussies while they were beating us. When my friend tried to wipe blood from his nose, a teenaged girl stuffed my friend's mouth with her tampon removed from her pants.”
After receiving a report of the attack, former foreign affairs minister Kevin Rudd raised the issue with various interested parties, such as the Chinese ambassador in Canberra and the Minister for Immigration Chris Bowen.
The Mandarin-speaking MP also put his language prowess to use and posted sympathetic comments on the Chinese social media site Weibo.
Peter Cai is The Age's Asian Affairs Reporter.
Bill Siu I commend you in writing this letter, we need someone of your calibre to voice our concern.
回覆刪除Anonymous,
刪除Thank you for your compliment. I cannot think of anything else I can do.
Bill