A $10,000 reward awaits anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of a man accused in an attempted robbery that left an Asian woman critical in New York City.
The latest: Than Htwe, 58, an immigrant from Myanmar, remains in a coma after sustaining a severe brain injury from the incident, which occurred in Manhattan’s Canal Street Station on July 17.
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Htwe and her 22-year-old son, Kyaw Zaw Hein, were exiting the station around 10:45 a.m. when they came across the suspect, who tried to grab the latter’s backpack from behind. This sent the mother and son tumbling down a flight of stairs.
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Htwe’s family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical bills. As of this writing, they have raised over $43,000.
The reward: Phil Wong, president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY), announced the $10,000 reward on Thursday with Guardian Angels founder and GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa.
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“I’ve waited for elected officials to come out and denounce this crime and it’s been five days, it’s been six days…nothing happened,” said Wong. “So I myself decided to step up. Through generous donations, I’ve secured $10,000.”
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Sliwa, who won the Republican mayoral primary last month, said: “When I’m mayor, you better believe — Asians are not gonna be targeted, Jewish people are not gonna be targeted, New Yorkers in general are not gonna be targeted. Because we’re going to go after these culprits, we’re gonna lock them up, we’re gonna take them off the streets and make sure they’re put away so they can’t begin to do it again, and again and again… [We’ll] send a message to the entire city: You leave the Asian people alone.”
The New York Police Department’s Asian Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident. Anyone with information is urged to call 800-577-TIPS or send a message to Crime Stoppers on Twitter.
Featured Images via Curtis Sliwa (left), Kyaw Zaw Hein, Myint Shein (center), New York Police Department (right)
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