A 60-year-old Malaysian restaurant owner in New York City was left brain dead after a horrifying racist attack.
According to the New York Post, the victim identified as Ng Thang Keong from Johor was viciously assaulted together with his two staff at his seafood buffet restaurant in Emmons Avenue, Brooklyn.
Apparently, Ng’s two workers had rushed to his aid during the scuffle with the assailant.
Chef Fufai Pun, 34, died from his injuries while restaurant manager Tsz Mat Pun, 50, is in critical condition.
The attacker has been identified as 34-year-old Estonian immigrant Arthur Martunovich.
Suffering from major head trauma, Ng was pronounced brain dead by the NYU Langone Medical Centre.
According to the report, the attack happened on January 15 around 5pm when the eatery was full of customers.
Witnesses told the New York Post that the suspect burst into the restaurant and began bashing several of the staff members and Ng on their heads with a hammer.
The suspect had apparently avoided attacking the Hispanic workers and went after their Asian colleagues only.
After the attack, Martunovich fled towards the food outlet’s parking lot, but police managed to track him down and arrested him.
He reportedly told police officers that he had disliked the way that the restaurant was treating Chinese female workers and also was influenced by a film he had watched of how Chinese women were allegedly mistreated.
The report quoting a law enforcement officer stated that Martunovich had said that he has a problem with Asian men while going on a rant at a local police station.
A construction worker, Martunovich has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon, and is expected to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
Meanwhile, the Seaport Buffet restaurant has remained closed as investigators search for clues.
China Press reported that doctors have yet to decide whether to continue Ng’s life support system as he has no family in the United States.
It was also reported that authorities were trying to contact Ng’s family in Malaysia with his last known address listed at Johor.
Ng was believed to have moved to the US decades ago.