[Newsmaker] Korean punched in the face in NY for not wearing mask

A 23-year-old South Korean student was punched in the face for not wearing a face mask in New York, in what appears to be a hate crime against Asians amid virus fears, reports said Friday.

According to the reports, the student was entering a building in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning when she was grabbed by the hair and punched in the face. The alleged attacker reportedly attends an institution located in the same building as the victim’s language school.

The attacker assaulted the Korean student, hurting her shoulder and chin, saying, “Where’s your corona mask, you Asian (expletive)?” and “You’ve got coronavirus, you Asian (expletive).”

The victim was taken to a hospital and may have a dislocated jaw, according to reports.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying, “I am disgusted to hear that a woman of Asian descent was physically assaulted in Manhattan on Tuesday, an attack apparently motivated by the bigoted notion that an Asian person is more likely to carry or transmit the novel coronavirus.

“To be clear, there is zero evidence that people of Asian descent bear any additional responsibility for the transmission of the coronavirus. ... No one in this state should ever feel intimidated or threatened because of who they are or how they look.”

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the assault.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)