“They stopped, but they kind of stopped reluctantly. They could have just kept going. They hadn’t had enough, things could have gotten worse,” said the sister, aged 17.
Her brother, 14, was tripped and then concussed by a punch to the head after the youths chased the siblings on Harewood Rd from the Cotswold Ave intersection, near Bishopdale Park, about 5pm on May 31.
Fortunately, a motorist recognised the pair’s predicament, a teenager on a mountain bike also urged the attackers, who are described as European, to stop.
The incident spanned about five minutes and culminated in the brother being treated at Christchurch Hospital.
He experienced dizziness and blurred vision; his sister had a bruised shin when she was kicked when trying to block the duo from her brother.
“My little brother was the target so I was quite concerned for him,” she said.
“At first I thought it was just a joke because teenagers do weird stuff. I thought they were just running being us. We didn’t take it seriously at first.”
However, the episode turned sinister when the brother were pinned up against a fence.
“When they started kicking me I was like: ‘This is going to be a bit weird’. I thought it would be a one time thing but they kept on coming for me and then randomly just punched me in the face,” the brother said.
“My brother kept asking ‘What did we do?’ and they said: ‘You ate my dog’,” his sister added.
When they returned home their mother explained the comment was racist.
“I think they were half-joking, but it’s not something you should say to other people,” the sister said.
“I didn’t think this would happen in Christchurch, we’re so diverse. It’s surprising and sad that these kinds of things happen. I want people to know that this is something that could happen to other people as well.”
The Japanese consulate in Christchurch has also issued a warning to the ex-pat community following the incident.
We might seem like Japanese but we’ve never lived in Japan, we were born here, we grew up here,” the sister said.
“We only know New Zealand. I think of myself as a Kiwi.”
The siblings were interviewed by police at Christchurch Hospital and made a formal report the following morning.
However, the offenders, thought to be aged between 17 and 19, are not actively being pursued.
“They’re not investigating any more because they didn’t find any CCTV from around that area. That was kind of disappointing,” the sister said.
Undeterred by being bashed, the brother resumed his fitness regime this week, albeit via a modified route.
“I don’t feel mentally traumatised. I’ll still go running, but I’d won’t go the same way. I’ll go somewhere a bit different,” he said.
One of the teenagers wore a black hoodie and black trousers and was of medium build.
The other attacker was slim with short, curly brown hair. He was wearing a black jersey and black pants.
The siblings are the latest victims of anti-Asian sentiment in the city, which intensified following the global spread of Covid-19 from China.
In February last year, two ‘skinheads’ abused a group of Asian students over the coronavirus while the children stood outside Merrin School in Avonhead.
Earlier that month, an email sent to parents in the Rolleston area called Asian people “virus spreaders” and said they should be barred from attending schools. Last October, a Chinese university student was abused by a woman on the Orbiter bus in Burnside.
Gordon Huang, who had been in New Zealand for three years at the time of the incident, credited the driver and a teenage passenger for defending him before the woman exited the bus.
Information on the Bishopdale incident can be passed to police by calling 105 and quoting file number 210601/2066 or through Crimestoppers – 0800 555 111.
