Ashraf Rossli says he knew he was being robbed by men pretending to help him, but could not defend himself
A Malaysian student who was allegedly targeted by a pair of bogus good samaritans during last summer's riots knew they were stealing from him but was too weak to fight back, a court heard.
The attack on Ashraf Rossli, 20, was recorded on a mobile phone and received widespread publicity after being posted on YouTube as disorder erupted across England last August. The footage showed two men rifling through Rossli's bag after helping him up.
A jury at Wood Green crown court heard that the accountancy student had been cycling to a frightened female friend on 8 August when he was punched in the face by an attacker in Barkingside, east London, leaving his jaw broken in two places. According to the prosecution, John Kafunda, 22, and Reece Donovan, 24, then allegedly stole from Rossli after posing as rescuers.
Rossli, who had been on the UK for only a month when the attack happened, told the court that a portable Sony PlayStation and 10 games, worth £500, were taken.
In his statement, Rossli said that he and a friend had been cycling along a flyover when they were spotted by a group of men. After managing to manoeuvre through one group of troublemakers who lunged at his bike and rucksack, he was set on by a second group, who forced him to stop.
"My heart was racing and I braced myself to be attacked," he said."Everything happened so quickly. Some of the group were tugging at my bag and shouting: 'Give me your bike'."
He was then punched in the face so hard that he had to have a metal plate put into his jaw. "I felt an impact on the side of my face," he said. "The force of this impact knocked me to the floor … I could feel blood running out of my mouth on to my hand."
It was while he was sitting bleeding on the pavement that a man approached to ask if he was OK, the court heard.
"I remember being pulled to my feet, then I felt someone again tugging at my rucksack. I was not in a position to defend myself and was still suffering from the effects of being hit.
"I knew they were stealing from me but I could do nothing. Once they had taken what they wanted, they left."
The jury heard evidence from a male who said he recognised Donovan as the man seen in video footage taking goods from the victim's bag and walking away, and a female who said she recognised Kafunda as the other man involved in the incident.
Kafunda, of Eastwood Road, Ilford, and Donovan, of Cross Road, Romford, both deny robbery, theft and violent disorder.
Donovan is also charged with one count of burglary at a Tesco store, which he denies.
The court heard written evidence from Abdul Hamid, who filmed footage of the alleged incident but said he had not uploaded the video on to YouTube.
He said he "put the footage on my Facebook page as I was totally shocked by what I had seen". The case continues.