Police investigate shocking racist letter which blamed Chinese restaurant for coronavirus

Police are investigating after hate mail was posted to the owner of a Chinese takeaway in Denmead, Hampshire.

The owner of the restaurant, who moved to the UK from Vietnam when he was 15, told local news outlets he was "stunned" by the letter.

Amongst other things that are too offensive to print, the letter calls Chinese people “filthy rotten scumbags” and accuses the restaurant owners of killing and eating “our English dogs”.

It goes on to say the restaurant and the people who work there are “the reason there is coronavirus in the UK”.

Staff at the next-door Grandeur Beauty Salon also received a letter which told them to “go back to China too”, leading the salon’s English-Chinese manager to pass the letter to the police.

Hampshire Constabulary is working with local Chinese communities in the aftermath of the letter.

A spokkesperson said:

Any crime perpetuated through ignorance, prejudice or hate is unacceptable.

We are working with our partners and the local Chinese communities and we would encourage everyone to report incidents to us either by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.

indy100 will not publish the unredacted version of this letter. But it has been widely shared on social media.

The incident comes as Asian people in Britain report increased incidents of racist hostility in public places. An NHS nurse was recently attacked on the way to work a coronavirus overtime shift and a London student was attacked on the street.

If you're worried about coronavirus, the best thing is to keep up to date with the latest guidelines (and be kind to each other).