VANCOUVER -- Mounties are investigating after a man allegedly went on an anti-Asian tirade outside a Burger King in Richmond, B.C., over the weekend.
The alarming incident happened while Benjamin Wong and several other customers were stuck in the drive-thru line at the fast food restaurant on Steveston Highway on Saturday afternoon.
Wong told CTV News an agitated man starting shouting racial taunts at an Asian family stopped a few cars ahead of his.
"That made me quite upset," Wong said. "I'm Chinese myself so hearing that, it doesn't feel good."
He decided to intervene by yelling at the man to leave them alone. Instead, the suspect allegedly approached his vehicle and began shouting into his window without a facemask.
In video recorded on Wong's dashboard camera, a suspect can be heard yelling profanities, including "f---ing Chinese" and "I can f---ing kill you."
But Wong said the shouting stopped immediately after he pulled out his cellphone.
"When he sees me filming with my phone he changes his tone and becomes a nicer person," Wong said. "He says, 'Nice meeting you,' and walks away."
Wong later reported the incident to the B.C. Hate Crimes hotline at 1-855-462-5733.
Richmond RCMP confirmed that officers are investigating a complaint of a disturbance at the fast food restaurant, but could not confirm the contents of the dash cam or cellphone videos.
"There are allegations that a number of hateful remarks were made by the suspect, and an investigation is ongoing," Cpl. Ian Henderson said in an email.
"Hate has no place in Richmond, and the Richmond RCMP gives all allegations of this nature the fullest attention and oversight."
Mounties will also be reviewing the incident to "see if perhaps there is some mental health nexus to this event," Henderson added.
Wong told CTV News he decided to come forward with his story to shine a light on the racism Asian people are continuing to deal with during the pandemic. A report presented to the Vancouver Police Board earlier this year indicated there was a staggering 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver last year.
Wong said he's normally not a confrontational person, but felt compelled to intervene.
"I was shocked that someone would say something like that," he said.
The RCMP asked anyone with information on the suspect to contact the Richmond detachment at 604-278-1212 and reference file number 21-11759. People who want to remain anonymous can instead call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
