Council holds hearing on Asian home invasion robberies

A hearing into a spate of home-invasion robberies in Philadelphia targeting Asian-Americans packed City Council Chambers on Monday.

Speaker after speaker told stories about how Asian and Asian-American business owners are getting robbed. Speaking through  a translator, Lifang Lee testified her daughter was afraid to stay in the city after a home invasion.

“Please protect us and provide for us a safe living environment so that our daughter will choose to stay in Philadelphia with her family,” she said. Councilman David Oh called for the hearings.

“Whether they be Muslim, whether they be Jewish, Arabs, Chinese merchants — when criminals target a group specifically, that is a serious problem for everyone in Philadelphia,” Oh said.

Councilman Alan Domb suggested the merchants use more credit and debit cards in order to reduce how much cash they have on hand.

The other problem discussed is when callers to 911 face a language barrier.