Man charged with hate crime in beating

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By Michelle Esteban

Summary

King County prosecutors on Tuesday filed hate crime charges against a man who allegedly screamed "You are an Iraqi terrorist!" before brutally beating the cabbie who was driving him home Saturday evening.

Story Published: Nov 27, 2007 at 5:06 PM PDT

Story Updated: Mar 21, 2008 at 1:46 PM PDT

Man charged with hate crime in beating

Sukh-vir Singh is seen in his hospital bed on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

SEATTLE -- King County prosecutors on Tuesday filed hate crime charges against a man who allegedly screamed "You are an Iraqi terrorist!" before beating the cabbie who was driving him home Saturday evening.

Luis A. Vazquez, 20, was charged with third-degree assault and malicious harassment.

According to a statement of probable cause file in court, Vazquez was kicked out of the Apple Cup at Husky stadium on Saturday and placed into a cab by two police officers who told the driver that Vazquez needed to be taken to his home in Kent.

While the cab was southbound on Interstate 5, police said Vazquez began punching the driver, 48-year-old Sukh-vir Singh, in the head while calling him a terrorist.

Singh pulled over and tried to run away, but witnesses told state troopers that Vazquez followed him, knocked him to the ground and continued to kick him in the head.

"I can not imagine anybody who can do this to me," Sing said from his hospital bed on Tuesday. "He said to me 'you are a terrorist, you did the 9-11, and I will kill you.'"

Singh said he knew he was being attacked because of the way he looks. He's not Iraqi -- he's Sikh.

He said Vazquez was punching, chocking and biting him while spewing a string of racial slurs.

A chunk of Singh's scalp is still missing, and he's being treated for problems with his kidneys and difficulty breathing.

Despite the attack, Singh says he knows that Vazquez is not representative of most Americans, and said the witnesses who called 911 probably saved his life.

"I love America," he said. "I love Americans"

Vazquez is scheduled to be arraigned next Tuesday at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.

Prayer Vigil To Be Held

A vigil will be held Wednesday Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington at 5200 Talbot Rd. South in Renton.

For more information, as well as a place where you can send well wishes to Sukh-vir at www.sikhcoalition.org