By Mitchell Clarke
A 29-year-old man was kicked in the chest and punched in the back of the head by two teenage thugs who demanded his phone.
The Pakenham man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was approached by two men while he was walking along Drake Avenue, near Main Street, at about 10pm on Sunday 22 November.
“I noticed a group that was hanging out near the old Woolworths but I didn’t take much notice of them,” the victim explained.
“Two fellas from that group came over and asked for the time, so I pulled out my phone and gave them the time.
“They asked me what phone I had and I thought ‘here we go’, so I just kept walking but they still followed.”
The men, perceived to be of African appearance and in their late teens, allegedly told the victim they had a knife.
“I said to them ‘what do you want?’ and they said ‘we want your stuff’,” he recalled.
“One of them has then come around with a couple of kicks to the chest and a punch to the back of the head.
“I thought to myself, ‘I better make a break for it’ but as I’ve gone to run off, I copped a few more kicks to the head.”
The victim was able to seek refuge in a nearby shop before alerting police. The thugs allegedly fled with the rest of the group.
Police conducted a search of the area but were unable to locate the alleged offenders.
Thankfully, the victim didn’t sustain any major injuries in the assault.
“I’ve been hurt worse playing sport,” he laughed.
But he never considered that he’d be the target of such an opportunistic attack.
“It was a bit unusual because I’m not a small bloke and these guys weren’t heavily built. I thought they were pretty game to come up and demand something from me,” he said.
“It was just frustrating to think that if they can do that to me, who else is a target for this sort of thing?”
The victim said he was approached by another teen about two weeks ago while he was walking near Pakenham station.
“A fella asked me for the time and there was something about it that stood out to me. It seemed almost scripted,” he said.
“It’s pissed me off a bit, I’ve lived here for 10 years and I don’t want to feel unsafe in my own community. I’m a grown man, nearly six foot four, and if someone is making me feel unsafe, it’s a bit of a shame to think how others might feel.”
A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed they were investigating the attempted robbery.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
