After a terrifying attack from a group of teenagers, a 46-year-old Chinese food delivery man in New York found himself immediately resuming his job anyway, simply because he has no other choice.
Dao Li was reportedly robbed of $150 after being beaten by three teenage attackers in a building on Walton Ave., the Bronx on Aug. 24 at around 9:45 p.m. Following the ordeal, Li went on making deliveries for his restaurant Happy Dragon, despite the threat of further attacks.
“I’m scared but I must do it,” Li told New York Daily News. “This is my store. I can’t close it, right? I have a wife and kids. They have to eat.”
Li, a father of two kids aged 15 and 11, revealed that he was aware that he has been the target of one of the three teens as he has bothered him a couple of time before.
“Two or three times he’s tried to steal my food. I don’t know why,” he said. “Maybe because I’m Chinese, because I’m skinny?”
He narrated how that particular teen had thrown a glass bottle at him as he was walking with his wife down a sidewalk one late evening, not so long ago.
He narrated how that particular teen had thrown a glass bottle at him as he was walking with his wife down a sidewalk one late evening, not so long ago.
“He was across the street with a few people,” he said. “I think it was beer (bottle). It breaks on the sidewalk in front of me and I jump back. Then we ran home.”
Li said he was unable to notify the authorities about the previous incidents because of his very limited English.
A surveillance video obtained by the police showed Li being attacked by the still unidentified suspects.
The footage shows three attackers ambush Li by first distracting him and then knocking him out with a punch. After he tried to get back up, he was shoved back to the ground and was beaten again.
After the brutal assault, they took the cash out of Li’s pockets, totalling $150.
Although Li was badly beaten, he chose to go to Bronx Lebanon Hospital the following day instead of immediately seeking medical attention.
“I didn’t go to the hospital until the next day because I was scared,” he said. “It really hurt — my mouth, my head.”
Although Li was badly beaten, he chose to go to Bronx Lebanon Hospital the following day instead of immediately seeking medical attention.
“I didn’t go to the hospital until the next day because I was scared,” he said. “It really hurt — my mouth, my head.”
The suspects remain at large.
