The New York authorities attributed it to the psychological disorders of a large number of the perpetrators

Crime in Manhattan against Asians hits record level

Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg: Unfortunately, our office is currently investigating 33 prejudice-motivated racial hate crimes against people of Asian descent.

AFP

In the wake of an attack on a South Korean diplomat in New York City, the Manhattan District Attorney recently announced that his team is investigating the largest number of crimes against people of Asian descent since the establishment of a special unit more than a decade ago.

"Unfortunately, our office is currently investigating 33 prejudice-motivated racial hate crimes against people of Asian descent, which is the largest (number) we have recorded since the establishment of the racially based crime unit in 2010," Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg said.

He noted that he had followed "four times more hate crimes against Asians" in 2021 compared to the previous year.

Racial attacks against people of Asian descent have increased in the United States since 2020 and the beginning of the "Covid-19" pandemic.

Some activists blame former US President Donald Trump's speech, which was describing "Covid-19" as the "Chinese virus".

The authorities in New York attributed the rise in racist attacks to psychological disorders among a large number of perpetrators, problems that were exacerbated by the disruption of social services during the period of the pandemic that hit the largest American city hard.

Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg released the figures, announcing a 50-year-old suspect in the April 23 attack in East Harlem against a "61-year-old Chinese immigrant named Yao Pan Ma" who died months later of his injuries.

The suspect, who was originally wanted, was charged with racially motivated murder.

Last Wednesday night, a South Korean diplomat from his country's mission to the United Nations in New York was injured, after he was attacked by an "unidentified man," according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, which did not specify whether the motives for the attack were racist.

• Racist attacks against people of Asian descent have increased in the United States since 2020 and the beginning of the "Covid-19" pandemic.

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