Thug jailed for ‘violent and traumatising’ attack on South Korean men in West End

One of the victims needed facial reconstruction surgery after the vile assault
The attack took place in Coventry Street in the West End of London
Google
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A teenager has been jailed for four years after a brutal attack on two South Korean men which left one of the victims needing facial reconstruction surgery.

David Stan, 18, and a 15-year-old boy launched the “shocking and violent” assault in the West End in the early hours of July 19, 2020.

They had approached the two men in Coventry Street and forced them to hand over an iPhone 11 before trying to flee.

When the two men gave chase, the teenagers turned on them. One of victims suffered multiple nose breaks after being punched repeatedly in the face, and the other one was knocked unconscious by the youth.

David Stan
Met Police

One of the teenagers shouted “f***** Chinese” as they attacked the two men, who were living and working in London, before stealing a £7,000 Hublot watch and fleeing to Haymarket where they escaped on a bus.

After being tracked down by CCTV footage Stan was handed a four-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to robbery and actual bodily harm (ABH).

His accomplice - now 16 - was sentenced in November last year at Snaresbrook Crown Court to 44 months’ detention. His sentence was later increased to take account of the racist comments made during the attack.

CPS prosecutor Claire Holder said: “This was a shocking and violent robbery in the middle of central London on a Saturday night.

“It left one victim unconscious and the other with a badly broken nose needing facial reconstructive surgery back home in South Korea. Vile racist slurs were also thrown at the victims.

“These individuals targeted their victims, they were organised in their approach and they had every intention of using violence and threatening behaviour to carry out a robbery. The prosecution case included strong CCTV evidence that allowed the attackers to be tracked and identified.

“The court heard today about the impact of this senseless attack on these men. They still fear for their safety and are traumatised. We hope these convictions provide them with some comfort at this time.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in