Monday, Aug. 15, 2011

Asyraf Haziq

It wasn't the worst crime of the London riots, but the robbing of an injured Malaysian student — caught on tape and echoed across the media — captured the essence of all that was horrible about England's unrest. On Tuesday night, 20-year-old student Asyraf Haziq sat on the pavement, bleeding and in need of help. A group of thugs helped him to his feet, and then proceeded to remove his cell phone and wallet from his backpack. Asyraf, who was on his way to buy food to break his Ramadan fast when he was attacked, will need extensive surgery on his broken jaw. The student now has many supporters on Facebook and in the U.K. government: on Thursday the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Simon Featherstone, paid a visit to Asyraf after he was discharged from the Royal London Hospital.