82-year-old Sikh man assaulted, robbed on Queens street
RICHMOND HILL, Queens (WABC) -- An 82-year-old Sikh man was assaulted during a robbery on a Queens street Monday night.
It happened around 9 p.m. at the corner of 112th Street and Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill, where the victim, Onkar Singh, was walking when two unknown suspects approached him from behind and punched him multiple times.
"I said, 'Don't hit me, don't beat me. Take whatever I have. Take my money, whatever I have,'" Singh said. "'Don't beat me, don't kill me. Whatever I have, you can take my money.'"
He fell to the sidewalk, suffering lacerations and swelling to the right side of his face and chest.
"They hit me in the chest; I fell down," he said. "I tried to jump to the middle of the street...I had my phone I my pocket. I don't know if it slipped out, but they took it and ran."
Police say the suspects took the victim's cell phone and fled in an unknown direction.
Singh was taken to Jamaica Hospital for treatment and is now recovering at home.
He said he still has swelling in his jaw, and he will no longer walk alone, even in the daytime.
"It's very sad," he said. "They are spoiled street boys. They don't know anything about the well use of the life."
There are no arrests at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.
"This shouldn't happen in any community," activist Japneet Singh said. "There's a clear pattern that elders are being targeted."
According to police, the assault is not currently being investigated as a hate crime, as the motive has been determined to be robbery.
Still, the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit has met recently with the Sikh community and reassured them no stone will be left unturned.
"Keep your eyes and ears open, clearly the system is not working for us," Japneet Singh said. "We need to create a system that works for us as people."
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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