By Brendan Rees
A father has spoken of his shock after his 14-year-old son was punched in the face and robbed by thugs as he waited at a Cranbourne bus stop.
The father, who asked not to be named, said three youths described of Sudanese appearance, approached his son at the Lyall Street bus stop, near Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre, at 5.30pm on Monday 8 June.
He said the youths asked his son for the time but as he pulled out his phone the thugs snatched it out of his hands and told him to unlock it.
When his son refused to give into their demands, one of the youths “randomly” punched him in the face.
“While he’s holding his hands trying to catch all the blood from his nose they’re just yelling at him to unlock the phone,” he said.
The youths grabbed his son’s iPhone XR as well as a bag containing a brand new Kathmandu jacket which he had just purchased.
“They’ll real brazen; they’re not scared of anything,” he said.
“The jacket was still in the Kathmandu bag – with tags, the receipt, the whole lot.”
He said his son had been left devastated after saving his pocket money for two years to buy the jacket – with $840 still pay off for his phone.
He said his son had been hesitant to report the incident to police out of fear the thugs will “know who it is”.
“We’re trying to get him to give as much information as he can … to prevent it happening again to someone else.”
He said he was disappointed with the court system which “is letting us down”.
“It’s like this all the time … they’re out on bail and they’re back out and they do it again.”
The bus stop has become notorious for crime in recent months – with parents renewing calls for authorities to install CCTV cameras.
Cranbourne Police Sergeant Leanne Huth said due to the number of robbery incidents, police were conducting a high visible presence to “flood the Casey area” – targeting shopping precincts and local transport hubs for “public reassurance” – while drawing on additional resources.
Last October Casey Council said it was reviewing its CCTV within the municipality – with Lyall Street and surrounds to “be considered as part of this process”.
Casey Council has been contacted for comment for an update.
