Teen girl stamps heels on man’s chest in racist attack

The girl, said to be around 17 years old, aimed her heel at the centre of the man’s chest after he had been attacked and knocked to the ground during an unprovoked assault and robbery in Clerk Street.

The 34-year-old victim, who was born in Hong Kong and lives in the Capital, was said to be shaken but uninjured following the attack in which his designer watch worth hundreds of pounds was also stolen.

The man had been walking home from a night out between 2am and 3.30am on Saturday when he was approached by two strangers at the traffic light junction near Nicolson Street asking for a cigarette lighter.

On being told he didn’t have one, the pair – the girl and a man aged 17 or 18 – hurled racist abuse at him before he was beaten about the head.

While the man was on the ground the teenage girl trampled on his chest and his Tag Heuer watch was taken from his wrist.

The victim managed to get to his feet momentarily before again being punched to the ground.

Detective Sergeant Mike Leask, who is spearheading the investigation, said it was a “totally unprovoked” attack that was “completely unacceptable for Edinburgh City Centre”.

“Without any provocation, a man has run up behind the victim and punched him in the back of the head,” said DS Leask. “He’s stumbled to the ground after taking a few more punches and the girl has stamped on his chest.

“Before this they had been asking for a lighter and when he said he didn’t have one they used racist language and he began to walk off.”

DS Leask said a 35-year-old man, who may have been in the company of the two teenagers, then ended the assault by pulling to duo away.

The victim, who suffered minor grazes, didn’t report the assault to police until the morning. DS Leask said the Chinese man was left shaken by his ordeal and was “distressed” a valuable watch had been stolen.

He said: “He’s devastated that he lost the watch and upset that he’s been attacked while coming home from a night out and while walking through quite a populated area.

“He said the first attack lasted for about a minute and the second about 30 seconds.”

The male teenager is described as being white, 5ft 9ins tall with a medium build and medium-length blond hair. He was wearing a green top, grey tracksuit bottoms, white trainers and spoke with a Scottish accent.

The 17-year-old girl is described as white, 5ft 6ins tall with a skinny build and medium-length brown hair. She was wearing a pink top and light-coloured jeans.

Police also want to speak to the man who helped stop the attack, who is described as being 5ft 8ins tall with a stocky build and short dark hair. He was wearing a dark top and dark jeans.

A police spokesman said: “Police will not tolerate criminal behaviour motivated by prejudice and are committed to tackling all forms of hate crime. Anyone found to be responsible will be robustly dealt with.”

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