Youth attacked outside Internet cafe

By Alisa Farenzena

A 17-year-old boy was beaten on Geary Boulevard around midnight June 9 in an attack he claims was racially motivated.

A group of young Chinese men who were loitering outside the Internet cafe Cyber Hunt kicked the Caucasian boy in the head, knocking him unconscious, according to his mother, Elta Anderson.

"At 6:30 in the morning, I got a call from San Francisco General," she said, telling her her son had undergone a CAT scan for head trauma.

Anderson said that her son and three of his friends had been passing by Cyber Hunt after leaving a party. One of the friends, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the party had been at Rossi Playground and that the boys had been drinking.

According to the police department's incident report, 10 to 20 Asian males, between 15 and 22 years of age, were gathered on the sidewalk in front of the establishment, which is located at 5120 Geary Blvd., between 15th and 16th avenues.

"A lot of his friends were Asian so he didn't think anything of it (the group)," Anderson said. Her son attends George Washington High School.

The boy told the Chinese youths to get out of the way, which provoked them, according to a witness, who also wishes to remain anonymous.

"They threw a cup of soda at me," he said, explaining that he then became separated from the other youth.

The group of Asian males began to make comments, including "Hey, white boy, we're going to kick your a__, white boy," while following the three boys down Geary. The attack began in front of Blockbuster Video, located between 16th and 17th avenues.

"A large number of Asian males started kicking him in the head and ribs, jumping on him and punching him in the face," witness Albert Lin said. "It was a very violent type of beating."

The suspects started running away when they heard the horn of Lin's car. Lin said they were initially running east, but then started "going in various directions."

Officer William Derro, the reporting officer at the incident, was unable to comment on the case because it is still on-going.

According to Richmond District Police Capt. Marsha Ashe, the case was referred to the Hate Crimes Division of the San Francisco Police Department and is still being investigated.

Police have attempted to identify suspects, but none have been arrested. Anyone with information about the case should call the Hate Crimes Unit of the SFPD at (415) 553-1133.

In addition to the perpetrators of the assault, Anderson blames Cyber Hunt management for what happened to her son.

"It's open until 2 p.m. at night - it's ridiculous," she said.

Cyber Hunt's nighttime customers don't stay inside.

"They just let people loiter in front of the place for hours," Anderson said.

Cyber Hunt, which has a second location in Oakland, is a room full of computers where patrons have access to the Internet and various video games. They can also buy food and beverages.

Cyber Hunt manager Sammy Chan doesn't think the establishment's late hours are a problem.

"Before we were here, 7-11 was open 24 hours," he said. "There are a lot of fights outside 7-11."

Regardless of whether the nature of Cyber Hunt attracts trouble, there have been both minor and serious incidents at the district's Internet cafes.

"They (males who loiter outside Cyber Hunt) make nasty remarks at girls who walk by," said Ione Combes, a bartender who lives in the neighborhood. She has a 15-year-old daughter who has been hassled in front of Cyber Hunt.

"There have been three reports of violence in front of this particular establishment," Ashe said.

Cyber Hunt is one of three major cyber-cafes in the Richmond District, according to Ashe. The other two are Cyber Sniper, at 3601 Balboa St., and C3 Cyber Club.Com, located at 4724 Geary Blvd.

In searching for a cause of problems at Internet cafes, Ashe cited a theory that certain video games can desensitize people to violence.

"There's a theory that the games played in cyber clubs lead to violence," Ashe said.

The cyber clubs are currently licensed as "business services," according to Ashe, but police have been working on designating other types of permits for such establishments.

"We've been working with the board of supervisors and the club owners and the permit bureau," Ashe said. "The clubs are actually very cooperative with us."

According to Ashe, one licensing option is to consider a computer in a cyber-cafe as a "mechanical amusement device," like a pinball machine or any other piece of equipment that a customer puts money into in exchange for entertainment.

"That absolutely restricts the hours of the day that juveniles could be in there," she said.