A man wanted in connection with an assault against a woman in a shop in Adelaide’s Chinatown has been arrested by South Australian police overnight.
Police allege that the 39-year-old man from Glen Osmond is the same man that was captured in a shocking video striking a 20-year-old woman after an apparent dispute with her employer over alleged unpaid wages last Friday night.
The incident occurred in front of patrons and the woman was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital for treatment.
Police allege the man assaulted the woman by slapping her in the face and kicking her in the stomach. The man has since been bailed and will appear in the Adelaide magistrates court on 7 May while the police investigation continues.
The video provoked a visceral reaction among Adelaide’s Chinese community, who expressed their anger online about the treatment of the woman.
The exchange begins when the young woman challenges a man, identified online as the owner of the shop, asking why he won’t pay her wages.
“I don’t owe you a wage,” the owner says in the video, “so what should I pay you for?”
From there the situation quickly escalates. Another man in a black T-shirt – identified online as a friend of the owner – slaps the woman in the face, beginning a scuffle. When the woman retaliates, he appears to kick her across the room.
Others immediately become involved, with another woman attempting to stop the man from moving towards the woman.
The video shows she too is pushed across the room by him.
The Guardian attempted to contact both the owner of the shop and the man identified as assaulting the woman for this story.
