Elderly man returns to China after multiple attacks in San Francisco

(Source)

An elderly Chinese man was the victim of several attacks in San Francisco – including one at the start of COVID-19 – and has decided to return to China after deeming the city no longer safe.

Driving News: According to Sing Tao Daily, 87-year-old Rongxin Liao was first knocked unconscious in the Tenderloin District about seven years ago. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020, he was attacked again when he was kicked on his walker while waiting for a bus near Eddy and Leavenworth streets.

His most recent attack occurred on October 1, 2023, outside a Walgreens pharmacy near Market Street, when he was struck in the head while pushing his wheelchair. Reports at the time did not identify Liao as the victim.

About his attackers: Liao appeared in court several times over the widely publicized incident in 2020, urging the judge to give his attacker Eric Ramos-Hernandez a harsher sentence. However, Ramos-Hernandez only spent seven months in prison before being transferred to a psychiatric hospital and released for home treatment.

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A man named Effrim Baker, 60, was arrested over the attack in October. He is also charged with 14 offenses related to stabbings that reportedly occurred on the same day.

What he says: Liao’s son Jing Liao confirmed to the San Francisco Standard that his father had already purchased a one-way ticket to Guangzhou and his flight was scheduled to take place on Sunday. Jing said they decided to fly her father home because public safety in San Francisco was “getting worse and worse.”

“I don’t want to bother my son here. I don’t want him to worry about me all the time,” Liao told Sing Tao Daily, adding that he is also willing to give up his naturalized American citizenship and restore his Chinese citizenship upon his return.

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The big picture: While California and the U.S. overall saw an increase in hate crimes, San Francisco reported a decrease from 114 in 2021 to 36 in 2022. Anti-Asian hate in particular fell from 60 to six during this period, according to Axios.

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