After finishing her shopping, Grandma Ye was walking home when two men on an electric scooter followed her from behind. One of them jumped off the scooter and approached Grandma Ye, suddenly attacking her. With his left hand, he yanked her necklace, while with his right hand, he sprayed chili water.
After succeeding in grabbing the necklace, the assailant ran a few steps to catch up with the scooter and fled. Seeing that Grandma Ye was chasing them, the man on the backseat turned around and sprayed another jet of chili water at her.
Yesterday afternoon at around 4 PM, Grandma Ye and her son Xiao Zhu took the reporter to the scene of the incident. The three of us reenacted the situation at the time.
The bad guy riding the electric scooter —— the reporter; (the scooter belongs to Xiao Zhu)
The bad guy who sprayed chili water and snatched the necklace —— Grandma Ye's son, Xiao Zhu;
Grandma Ye —— Grandma Ye.
Reported by He Xin, Photographed by Han Dan
Yesterday morning at around 10:30 AM, in the first district of San Guantang, Qibao, 57-year-old Grandma Ye from Anhui Province had chili water sprayed all over her face, and her gold necklace was stolen.
At the time, Grandma Ye was holding long beans in one hand and scallions and tofu in the other, heading home from the market. She planned to make long bean buns with the beans and vegetable buns with the tofu. Her son and daughter-in-law run a Tianjin steamed bun shop in Qibao, and Grandma Ye helps by buying groceries and taking care of her granddaughter.
Grandma Ye recalled: With both hands full of groceries, she walked through a bustling little street and turned into a quiet alleyway. Two men on an electric scooter followed her from behind.
The man on the backseat got off, approached her, and suddenly attacked —— using his left hand to snatch the gold necklace from her neck, while with his right hand, he squeezed a "yellow-colored tube, about the size of toothpaste" in front of her eyes, spraying liquid all over her face. It felt like her eyes were burning.
Despite the pain, Grandma Ye put down the groceries and chased after them.
The man already seated on the scooter turned around and shot another spray at her. Grandma Ye stepped back and avoided it. The two men then fled on the scooter.
Tears streaming down her face, her skin red, Grandma Ye washed her face multiple times with cold water but still felt pain even during dinner.
Grandma Ye said that the liquid sprayed on her face caused her eyes to feel "extremely painful," her face to feel "as if it was burning," and her mouth to feel "very spicy." She added, "It was spicier than any kind of pepper."
A police officer mentioned that according to his understanding, using chili water and electric scooters for robbery has happened in other regions of Zhejiang before, and recently, there have been several such incidents in Hangzhou.
The Jianggan police are paying close attention and established a special investigation team yesterday.