- Malaysian businessman Vinod Sekhar was attacked outside a south London home last week
- He was attacked by two men who tore a watch off his arm, causing bruises and light bleeding
- Sekhar's wife, Winy Yeap, fought back like a "lioness", he said
A Malaysian-Indian businessman was attacked outside a south London home last week, but his wife fought "like a lioness,".
In a Facebook post titled "A Reminder That Life, Not Things, Matters Most," Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group chairman and CEO, explained how, after having spent the day with his family in Oxford watching the West End musical of Hamilton, he was mugged by two people.
"Following a lovely day with the family in Oxford during the day as well as an evening watching Hamilton, we headed back to my daughter's flat near Battersea Power Station," he wrote on Facebook.
The evening, though, took a shocking turn as two men emerged from the blues, grabbed and slapped him on the thighs and chest, and tore a watch off his arm. During the confrontation, he was "bruised, bleeding lightly, but relatively unscathed."
Sekhar reported that resisting had been hard due to his overall state and transplant medications. "I was rushed at, smothered, punched some times...and the watch had the watchband ripped off my wrist. I tried to struggle but could not - my post-transplant medications and health flat didn't permit it," he added.
The turning point came when his wife, Winy Yeap, acted decisively. Winy began to shout, brandishing her purse, and confronting the assailants; her actions seemingly shocked them enough to flee, he said.
"Like the lioness she's always been, my wife jumped in, whipping her bag, yelling at them, fearless and defensive. The muggers ran off on electric Lime bikes in that instant," he added.
The London Metropolitan police officers arrived at the location within a couple of minutes. A police constable told Sekhar that he was fortunate and that he could have gotten injured had he not surrendered his possessions.
Recounting the assault, Sekhar contrasted the safety of his home base, Kuala Lumpur, with that of London. "One of the most secure, warmest, most cosmopolitan cities in the world," he said, thankful to his home city.
"A world where kindness still triumphs over cruelty, and where, though flawed, we are still a people of exceptional people," he wrote.
Stressing that lives and loved ones were worth a million times over material possessions, he also warned travellers to avoid wearing "costly watches, flaunting glamorous bags, or thinking the streets are as secure as they appear."
"And if something similar occurs to you, forget about it. A watch, a wallet, a phone - all of these can be replaced. Your life, your people, your buddies can't," the multimillionaire explained.
"Be cautious. Stay secure. And be grateful - each day - for the things that can't be robbed," Shekhar concluded.
