‘Don’t wear or carry luxury goods’: Chinese students on alert amid spate of Melbourne robberies

Concerns have been raised among international students from China following a spate of robberies in the Melbourne CBD, while there are questions over whether this cohort is being targeted.

An image of the two individuals allegedly involved in the robberies. Credit: Supplied

Key Points

• Victoria Police is investigating a spate of street robberies in the Melbourne CBD.
• Victims have reported having luxury items stolen during some of the incidents.
• A police spokesperson said there is 'no evidence' that any particular cohort of the community is being targeted.

Ying Zhu would often leave her door unlocked without incident when she lived in Sydney, but her trust levels changed following a recent incident in Melbourne.

Two months after she moved to the Victorian capital, her Gucci handbag, worth more than $1,000, was snatched from her shoulder while she waited for a tram near Melbourne’s Chinatown.

"I saw [the male robber] run to the side of the road, his companion was on a scooter, he jumped on the scooter, and then the two rode away," the Chinese international student said about the moments immediately following the March 9 incident.

Ms Zhu said she was left “frozen” as she never expected to be robbed during daylight hours in Australia.

Out of fear, she did not leave her residence for more than a week after the incident.

“I always think about [the incident] and feel the danger might be around,” she said.

SBS Chinese understands that the incident is among a spate of at least 10 similar cases in Melbourne city over the past two weeks, and most of the victims were students from China.

The items stolen included luxury bags and accessories, with an average financial loss per victim running in the thousands.

Some victims revealed the robbery spots and their stolen items to SBS Chinese. Source: SBS / Tianyuan Qu

Just over a week after Ms Zhu was robbed, Harry Sun’s Dior bag was snatched while he walked with his girlfriend along Collins Street.

“I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders, and then my bag was gone," he said.

The student, who arrived in Melbourne last year, reported the incident - which resulted in personal losses of $5,000 - to Melbourne East Police Station.

Mr Sun described the offenders as being two young males on a scooter, whom he believed to be repeat offenders after he found out that one of his friends had been robbed on the same day along Elizabeth Street, near Melbourne Central Station.

“We talked about the offenders and were pretty sure they were the same guys. One wore black and the other wore grey,” he said.

Victoria Police have confirmed with SBS Chinese that they are aware of a number of robberies that occurred along Bourke and Flinders streets and in the vicinity of Treasury Gardens and are utilising CCTV footage to investigate the incidents.

Police have received reports of young male offenders who are paired up on a private e-scooter stealing handbags which have been placed on the ground or in some cases, snatched directly off the victim.

Victoria Police spokesperson

“At this stage, police are yet to confirm if the incidents are committed by the same two people," the spokesperson added.

A victim reported the robbery to the Melbourne East Police Station. Credit: Supplied

"There has been no reports of threats made to the victims in any of the incidents, with the offenders opportunistically stealing items that are left unattended or that are not closely guarded by victims. The offenders then immediately taking off on the e-scooter."

Safety concerns among international students

Following the robbery, Mr Sun shared his experience in a post on Redbook, and received hundreds of messages from other international students from China, who expressed concerns about their safety in Australia.

“Don’t wear or carry any luxury goods, it’s not the good old days anymore,” one commenter said on Mr Sun's post.

“Is this the so-called most liveable city?” another commenter added.

Based on data from the Crime Statistics Agency, the criminal incident rate per 100,000 people in Melbourne was 15,980 in 2022, compared to Victoria’s criminal rate of 5,306.

There were 13,676 victim reports in Melbourne in 2022, a 14 per cent increase compared to the year before.

The number of female victims in 2022 rose slightly by 700 than the year before.

Victoria Police is investigating the incidents happened in Melbourne's CBD. Source: SBS / Nicole Gong

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Education told SBS Chinese that international students who have been victims of crime should report it directly to their nearest police station or seek help from their education provider.

“All students should feel safe, whether on campus or in the community,” the spokesperson said.

According to the latest Student Experience Survey, 86 per cent of Chinese students were satisfied with their personal safety off campus, lower than students from India (94 per cent), Nepal (95 per cent), Vietnam (92 per cent), and Malaysia (88 per cent).

Based on the latest data, Chinese students make up the highest percentage of international students in Australia, with 110,413 primary student visa holders from China by 6 March 2023.

Among the international students surveyed, those from China felt the least secure about living in Australia. Credit: 2021 International Student Experience Survey

Robin*, another person from China who was robbed on the same day as Ms Zhu, told SBS Chinese that she believed the offenders were targeting people of Asian appearance in possession of luxury belongings.

Regarding the claim, Victoria Police said: "There is no evidence to suggest any particular cohort of the community are being targeted."

On the second day of Robin's visit to Melbourne, from New Zealand, her Louis Vuitton Bagatelle worth $4,000 was snatched by two young males on a scooter along Flinders Street, whom she believed were the same people that robbed Ms Zhu.

“I felt like I had post-traumatic stress syndrome. I’m now back in New Zealand, but I’m still scared when I see a scooter," she said.

“When I heard that a friend came to Melbourne, I told her to be careful and keep a low profile, the bag must be carried inside, and always pay attention to these scooters."

For safety concerns, Robin* did not reveal her real name.