A 22-year-old man has been charged by the Police, after an incident where he punched a Chinese woman in the face, and allegedly ran off with money from her store.

The incident took place last Saturday morning at Kavana Avealalo Store at Falelauniu.

It was captured on CCTV, with the footage handed to the Police. 

It was also shared on social media where members of the public have condemned the attack as “cowardice” and “heartless.”

When the Weekend Observer visited the store yesterday, the Owner of the Shop, who was identified as “Ming”, was still recovering. 

The woman, who is in her 50s, had her left eye heavily bandaged. There are other bruises on her chin and face.

“It still hurts,” she said. “I cannot believe it happened.”

Ming declined to discuss the incident further, saying the matter has been handed to the Police.

One of her employees, Brenda Namulauulu, said since the attack, her boss has been staying in her room most of the time.

 “It’s very sad what happened,” she said. “It’s a clear indication that some Samoans are racist. I know for a fact that if this woman was a Samoan this would have never happened, never.”

The employee went on to explain that the incident occurred early Saturday morning. 

“The video footage tells the whole story,” she said.

“He walked in and while the cash register was opened, he punched my boss on the face.

“You've seen her face, it is still all bruised and that tells you that he punched her face real hard.”

The Police confirmed that a 22-year-old man has been charged with assault with intent to rob. 

He has been remanded in custody to await his Court appearance on 22 January 2019.