Man appears in court over robbery of Malaysian student

A man has appeared in court charged with robbing a Malaysian student during the London riots.

Ashraf Rossli, 20, was rushed to hospital with a broken jaw on Monday night after being attacked in the street less than a month after arriving in the UK.

Video footage of items apparently being stolen from the victim’s rucksack in Barking, east London, has been widely broadcast.

Reece Donovan, 20, of Chadwell Heath, east London, is accused of stealing a portable Sony PlayStation and Nokia mobile phone from the student.

Donovan appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

The defendant, who the court heard also has uses the name Reece Reegan, was denied bail but is expected to apply for bail at a later date.

He will next appear at Wood Green Crown Court on August 19 for a plea and case management hearing.

Hundreds appear in court

Courts are due to sit throughout this weekend in an attempt to clear the backlog created by the large numbers of people arrested in connection with rioting.

Scotland Yard later said 1,271 people have so far been arrested in connection with this week’s violence in London, and 745 suspects have been charged.

Across the country, some 1,600 people have now been arrested for looting and other offences, with around 800 already having appeared in court.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of a man found shot in his car in Croydon, south London, following rioting on Monday night.

Trevor Ellis, 26, from Brixton Hill, died on Tuesday after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

A 26-year-old man was arrested on Friday at an address in Mitcham, south London, by police supported by armed officers from CO19. He is in custody at a south London police station.

A 24-year-old man was arrested by Met Police officers in Brighton on Thursday and has been bailed to return on September 12 pending further inquiries, the Met said.

A 22-year-old man is being questioned by police over the murder of 68-year-old Richard Mannington Bowes, who was attacked as he tried to stamp out a fire in a supermarket bin in Spring Bridge Road in Ealing, west London, on Monday.

No grudges

Mr Rossli, who was discharged from hospital on Friday, said he bore no grudges against his attackers.

My mother would like me to go home. But I am determined to stay. Ashraf Rossli

Speaking at a press conference, he said: “My family are worried about me and my mother would like me to go home. But I am determined to stay.

“Britain is great. Before I came here I was very eager and I haven’t got any ill-feelings about what happened.

“I feel very sorry for the people who did this. It was really sad because among them were children.”

‘Sick society’

But another victim of the riots – a Polish woman who was forced to leap from the window of her burning home – described England as “a sick society”.

Monika Konczyk, 32, said she came to the UK five months ago seeking a better life – but nearly died at the hands of arsonists after they tornched the building she lived in on Monday night.

A picture of the Poundland shop assistant jumping 16ft from the first floor window of her flat into the arms of police in Croydon, south London, was one of the defining images of the riots.

I thought London was a civilised society full of gentlemen and ladies – but it is not like that. England has become a sick society. Monika Konczyk

Ms Konczyk told the Sun: “I came to England because I thought it was a great country full of kind and gentle people.

“I thought London was a civilised society full of gentlemen and ladies – but it is not like that. England has become a sick society.”

“I found myself jumping for my life after being attacked by thugs and thieves. They set fire to my building without any thought for anyone’s safety.

“They were happy for me to die. They were like animals – greedy, selfish animals who thought only of themselves.”

She added: “I am shocked to find people behaving like this in England. It is not what I expected of the English.

“I have never seen anything like this in Poland. Polish people are hard-working and respectable. They believe in working for a living, not stealing from others.

“If you want nice clothes or a new TV, you don’t smash shop windows and loot them – you work and pay for them.”