An underground casino in Flushing, New York, was robbed at gunpoint by seven armed assailants. Nine Chinese men and women were forced to strip down to their underwear for a body search, with some beaten and left bleeding from head wounds. The robbers made off with large amounts of cash, jewelry, luxury watches, and two BMW cars, with a total value of about $300,000 (approximately 1.21 million Malaysian ringgit).
According to surveillance footage circulating online, the incident occurred around 2 a.m. on January 11, when seven masked robbers wearing hoods and gloves, with only their eyes exposed, broke into an apartment at 133-43 35th Avenue in Flushing.
Some of the assailants were armed with guns, others with knives. They ordered the nine Chinese men and women inside to enter a room and told them to squat with their hands over their heads.
One Chinese man and one woman were beaten by the assailants and suffered bleeding head injuries. Both covered their wounds with blankets and clothing, leaving a pool of blood on the floor.
The robbers ransacked the entire place, searching every corner and bag. They ordered the nine men and women to take off their shirts and pants; the men were left only in their underwear, and the three women were left in bras and underwear, looking very disheveled.
One young woman was forcibly stripped of her outer clothes by the assailants and then had her head pushed down and was dragged out of the room. It is unclear what she experienced afterward.
Before fleeing, the assailants ordered all the victims to lie face down on the ground and not to get up until they heard the robbers leave, after which the victims got dressed.
After the incident, local police confirmed the location was an underground casino. The robbers made off with large amounts of cash, Apple phones, luxury watches, precious items, necklaces, jewelry, and two BMW cars, with stolen property valued at about $300,000.
The suspects included Black, White, and Spanish-speaking individuals, a total of seven people. One suspect, a 37-year-old Hispanic man living in the Bronx, was recently apprehended.
Police stated that all nine victims were Chinese (five men and four women, who spoke with a Fuzhou accent, according to the video). The victims were beaten and threatened, and several women were sexually assaulted—groped on their breasts and private parts.
Flushing is the second-largest Chinese community in the U.S. and has numerous hidden underground casinos, which have led to robberies, fights, violent crimes, and negatively impacted the local social atmosphere. However, driven by profit, many Chinese still take such risks, gambling with their lives.
A Flushing resident commented that underground casinos are harmful to everyone and lead to crime, making the community feel unsafe.