Coronavirus: Asian business owners in Denmead left scared for their staff after being sent horrific racist letter

The horrific hate mail was posted first class to 55-year-old Phil Tu, who has owned the Lucky Star Chinese takeaway in Denmead for 35 years.

Purporting to be from residents, the 15-line tirade is written in bold capital letters and calls Mr Tu ‘the reason there is coronavirus in the UK’.

It goes on to brand Chinese nationals ‘filthy rotten yellow scumbags’ and accuses them of killing and eating ‘our English dogs’.

Mr Tu, who is from Vietnam and moved to the UK aged 15, said reading the letter during his lunchtime service on Saturday left him ‘stunned’.

‘I can’t explain how I felt when I opened this letter,' he said.

‘We have been here so long and everyone we know in the village is really nice.

‘I’ve been abused before and you come to expect it when you’re a different colour.

‘But we have nothing to do with the coronavirus in China – and all I can say is I feel sorry for this hateful person.

‘I think it comes from a small minority but I’m still scared.’

The letter is stamped to say it was sent via Royal Mail at 7.43pm on Friday and also singles out staff at the next-door Grandeur Beauty Salon.

It says: ‘Pass this on to your fellow colleagues next door in the nail bar. They should ******* well go back to China too.’

Grandeur’s English-Chinese manager, Ivy Ho, said she believed the letter’s contents would be ‘fairly basic’ until Phil handed it over.

‘I was totally shocked,’ said Ivy, 34.

‘I’ve had people abuse me before but this needed to go further, so I posted it on Facebook partly for our safety.

‘You hear of people bricking windows and throwing eggs but, because of this letter, we now worry for our staff and feel like we have to have at least two people around.

‘This person has decided to stay anonymous because they know it could come back to them and because of the shame of what they've done.’

The letter also vows a boycott of Mr Tu’s takeaway and says: ‘Pass this onto your fellow Chinese ********. All the takeaway places in Denmead, Waterlooville and Cosham.’

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus: Police investigate racism allegations in Portsmouth and Southampton

It comes after the Tiger Lily Chinese takeaway in Whiteley said in February it had felt the ‘sharp end’ of racism since the coronavirus outbreak.

A House of Commons Library briefing paper shows there were 1,849 racist hate crimes in Hampshire in 2018/19, the UK’s 24th highest.

The letter sent to Mr Tu has been condemned by Havant MP Alan Mak, who became the first MP of Chinese and East Asian origin in 2015.

He told The News: ‘This is a nasty and racist letter which everyone should condemn.

‘We need to fight the virus, not local small businesses who have nothing to do with the outbreak.’

Coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, was yesterday declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on January 31.

Ms Ho has handed the letter to Hampshire police.

Letter condemned by Chinese Association and Denmead residents

A SPOKESMAN for the Portsmouth area's Chinese community has vowed to escalate the investigation into the letter sent to Mr Tu.

Albert Choi, chairman of the city’s Chinese Association, condemned the hate crime and said he will raise it with councils in Hampshire to make them aware of the abuse being experienced by some of their residents and business owners.

He said: ‘I’m aware this kind of discrimination has been going around the country and, usually, it can be attributed to children playing pranks.

‘But when someone sends a letter like this to someone’s address it becomes personal. That is different.

‘We have to condemn this and I will certainly contact both victims to see if there is anything Portsmouth Chinese Association can help with.’

Denmead residents have also rallied to support both business owners after they received the letter.

South Downs Funeral Service employee, Debby Dean, has been a regular customer at both firms.

The 55-year-old said: ‘I thought the letter was absolutely disgusting.

‘If the senders can’t even put their names at the bottom of the letter they are cowards.

‘They should be punished, made to do community service, help ethnic minorities and learn a few things.

‘There are quite a few people of different cultures and backgrounds in the village now and if people don't like it, they should go and move somewhere else.’

Registered nurse and mum Jody Butler, 29, added: ‘These people have never done any harm to anyone and this racism shocks me from Denmead.

‘Coronavirus has blown totally out of proportion and people have to be sensible and responsible for their own actions and common sense.

‘They should not be targeting Chinese nationals just because that is where the virus came from.’

She added: ‘This person should be held accountable. Their behaviour is not healthy.’

The letter sent to Mr Tu in full

‘You ****** rotten scumbag Chinese stop the killing of dogs in China.

‘You are the ******* reason there is coronavirus in the United Kingdom and around the world.

‘I and my friends and family will boycott your filthy Chinese restaurants.

‘Are you still killing and eating our English dogs?

‘You filthy rotten yellow scumbags.

‘Will never use your filthy restaurants and take a ways (sic).

‘Hope you all ******* well go out of business.

‘Go back to China you ******* lot of evil ******** and get coronavirus yourselves.

'The filthy Chinese man I saw coming out of your takeaway the other day should go back to China. He was absolutely filthy. His clothes were filthy and he is obviously cooking the food in the takeaway.

‘Go back to China all you filthy yellow ********.

‘May you rot in hell all of you.

'Please pass this on to your fellow Chinese ********. All the takeaway places in Denmead, Waterlooville and Cosham.

‘Look at Facebook and see the horrendous videos of the Chinese ******** catching dogs and skinning them alive. All for food.

‘Hope the coronavirus takes all you Chinese ******** out of this world.

‘From several residents of Denmead. Pass this on to your fellow colleagues next door in the nail bar. They should ******* well go back to China too.’