Police seek violent robbers

Police are investigating two assault-and-robberies in Southbank and South Melbourne on December 29.

Det Sen Constable Brooke Manley said the two assaults were believed to have been committed by the same offenders.

The first incident occurred around 3.50am in Southbank along the Yarra River, just underneath Princes Bridge.

20-year-old William from St Kilda is visiting Australia, and was riding his bike home from work east along the river.

William was then stopped by two males on bikes, who violently punched and beat him while he was on the ground. The two males proceeded to steal William’s mobile phone, and left him with a chipped tooth and a black eye.

“I was on the ground. Once I tried to stand up but they punched me down again, I could do nothing,” William explained.

Both offenders then rode their bikes west to South Melbourne, where they approached two males in Market St.

A 24-year-old man from West Footscray and 23-year-old man from Sunshine were walking to their car when the two offenders demanded their property.

When the victims did not oblige, one offender began to punch a victim in the face, leaving him with cuts, swelling and broken glasses.

The second victim ran towards Clarendon St and caught the attention of a passing taxi driver, which caused the offenders to flee the area.

“The other two victims were terrified for their lives. They thought that they were done,” said Det Sen Constable Manley. “Who would have known what would happen next if the taxi driver hadn’t intervened?”

The offenders are both caucasian, in their early 20s and approximately 176cm tall.

One offender had blonde hair, wearing a blue striped shirt and jeans. The second offender had brown hair, and wore tanned pants with a maroon hoodie and white and black T-shirt.

Det Sen Constable Manley explained that CCTV footage of the rampage was “extremely violent”.

“This obviously holds concerns for Victoria Police when we have victims that are attacked just going about their daily business. William should have been able to leave his place of work and travel home safely,” Det Sen Constable Manley said.

Although William had a week off work following the assault, and still needs dentistry work to fix his tooth, he is positive that the assault won’t tarnish his experiences in Australia.

“In any country you can have incidences like this, it is not happening in Australia specifically,” he said. “I want to enjoy my time here, I don’t want to be scared about something else.”

Police have obtained a face image from the men in South Melbourne, and are using CCTV footage to further identity the two offenders.

Det Sen Constable Manley is urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.