Teens Apprehended for ‘Racist Attack’ on Chinese Student in Spain

After a month since the incident, two suspects have been captured for their involvement in a racist attack against a Chinese student in Malaga, Spain.

The victim, Zhang Dantong, said in a FaceBook post that she was surrounded by a group of Spanish teenagers as she was travelling by train on April 29. The teenagers bullied her, hitting her on the head, threw a cigarette at her, and called her names, including “puta China”, which translates to “Chinese whore”. They also made fun of her accent, telling her to “go back to your f*cking country.”

Zhang, who also goes by Iris, uploaded a photo of one of the teenagers along with the lengthy post in the hopes that someone would recognize them so that they may be brought to justice.

“Hello everyone, my name is Iris, an overseas student who currently study in Málaga.

“Today (29/04/2018) I was taking the first train from Fuengirola to Málaga at 06:10, there were someone (a group of students) keeping hitting me on my head from the back seat, made fun of me, insulted me and at the same time making a video. And one of them (who named José) even smoked in the train and throw cigarette to me, called me ‘PUTA CHINA’ and said ‘China de mierda vuelve a tu país’

“They had already on the train when I got on from Fuengirola, and after I sat down I just fell asleep. They were making a scene at the train like singing loudly, smoking, imitating the way Asian talk in a insulting way and stuff. I had no contact with any student sitting around me (there are around 10 of them), not even an eye-contact. But out of a sudden, someone hit me on my head, at first I thought it’s intentionally, but the second time I noticed the boy sitting opposite to me was taking a video, so I told them to stop. But they didn’t. They did it at least 4 times.

“I have already called the police, but I still need your help. If you were also at this train and saw what happened or if u know the one who bullied me, it will be highly appreciated if you can contact me.

“They are Spanish kids aged around 15, one of them said they are studying at a ‘private English school’ and his English has an British accent. I took a photo (below) of the boy who hit me, and he hopped off the train at 06:26, Arroyo de la Miel.

“This kind of behavior is unacceptable, and also racist. That’s why I decided to stand up and fight back. Just like what I did at the train.

“At last, I want to express my gratefulness towards everyone who has helped me today,especially a girl from Malaga. And also to the girl who stood out for me and then sat next to me to protect me. Thanks for your help!”

Spanish and Chinese media alike took note of her post, and an investigation was launched by Spanish officials to find the teenagers. After a month of searching, The Paper via Shanghaiist announced that two suspects involved in the racially-charged attack have finally been apprehended.

Feature image via FaceBook / Dantong Zhang

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