Was this queer Asian man the victim of a San Francisco hate crime?

Police in San Francisco have not yet determined whether an unprovoked assault by a man hurling racist slurs against a queer Thai man is a hate-motivated crime, according to multiple media outlets.

Pat Karaphat said he was outside his apartment in the city’s Tenderloin district around 3 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 17 when he was approached by a tall, well-built Black man who without warning punched him repeatedly in the face.

“I was in shock,” Karaphat told Ethnic Media Services.

The slightly-built former boxer said he wanted to fight back, but thought he saw a knife in the man’s possession and didn’t want to risk getting stabbed. Instead, he absorbed a quick succession of punches and racist slurs.

“I didn’t know who he was, but he seemed to hate me, even though I didn’t know him and had never done anything to him,” Karaphat said during a Zoom call with members of the Thai consulate, representatives from the San Francisco Police Department, mental health counselors, and journalists with the Thai-language Siamtown US.

“He swung his fists five times, trying to hit, hit, hit,” he said of the assault, adding the man kept muttering “f*ck*ng Asian” and “f*ck*ng monkey” as he punched.

Karaphat was able to escape his attacker and fled to his apartment where he called the police.

Paulina Henderson, a spokesperson for the SFPD, told EMS officers responding to the scene found Karaphat suffering non-life-threatening injuries consistent with an assault, but that he declined medical treatment.

“While the victim was being assaulted, the suspect made racist statements,” Henderson confirmed.

Henderson said the investigation is open and active, including whether it is hate-motivated. Karaphat also isn't so sure the crime wasn't motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ hate.

While the attack has left no lasting injuries, Karaphat said he remains internally scarred.

“I am in no physical pain,” Karaphat told EMS. “But it hurts so deeply inside. I feel trauma and so much fear to leave my house.”