BeyondHeadlines Staff Reporter
London: Mohd Asyraf Haziq, 20, a Malaysian student in London who was was victim of the riot last week was invited to the Westminster.
Haziq was invited to Parliament by Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz today that is investigating the London Riots.The Malaysian student was on his bicycle was targeted by rioters and received a broken jaw in the attack. A fund to help the student has since raised more than £22,000.
Asyraf Haziq (Courtesy: BBC)
Haziq was joined on the tour of the Palace of Westminster by his father Rossli, mother Maznah, and seven-year-old brother Fitri who flew in from Ampang, near Kuala Lumpur. He will stay back in UK to continue is studies. Speaking at parliament he said: “I’m very honoured, it’s great to be here and I like it very much.”On Sunday, Mr Haziq, a keen cyclist, was given VIP treatment at the Badminton World Championships at Wembley Arena.
Asyraf became the symol of humanity in the wake of widespread looting, arson and chaos. There was an outpouring of sympathy which turned into anger when his so-called saviours, apparently from the same gang who attacked him, ransacked his backpack and took away his PSP. Unknown to him and his attackers, the incident was filmed by someone from a nearby building and it was posted on YouTube and repeated many times on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Sky TV.
The one-minute-15-second video clip was ironically as powerful as the tweets and SMSes that the likes of his perpetrators had employed to plan their mindless attacks and carnage throughout London and cities across Britain.Abdul Hamid, who filmed the attack, wrote a caption under his clip: “Footage I captured of some men using the riots as an excuse to just harm and humiliate an innocent person. I hope to get in touch with the victim and I am also trying to raise money for him.”
Reece Donovan, 20, of Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex, is accused of robbing Mr Haziq. He will appear at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday for a plea and case management hearing.
Inputs from BBC
