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In a foreign land in the grip of a pandemic, the two young women kept to themselves in public.
But what was supposed to be a simple grocery run turned into a nightmare for the Singaporean and Malaysian undergraduates, who were verbally abused and assaulted in the heart of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, last Wednesday.
A video circulating on social media shows the 18-year-old Singaporean and her 20-year-old friend being attacked.
Believed to be racially motivated, the incident has drawn strong criticism from the Australian authorities.
The Victoria Police said the victims were walking along Elizabeth Street near the Queen Victoria Market at about 5.30pm on Wednesday when the two alleged perpetrators began verbally abusing and assaulting them.
The area is within the city’s Central Business District.
Describing the attackers as skinny Caucasians, the police said they reportedly shouted “coronavirus” repeatedly and hurled death threats at the victims.
Melbourne’s Nine News reported that the students were also told to “go back to China” and were attacked when they responded to the taunts.
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