A man who disguised himself in a burka before repeatedly bashing a young woman over the head with a brick has been jailed for four years and four months.
Hong Nguyen chased the 23-year-old along Cairns Avenue, a residential road near Streatham Park just on December 6 before hitting her from behind with a bag containing a brick.
The Rowan Park woman, who does not want to be named, was struck on her head, forehead and eye before he started strangling her.
Pinned on her side, she managed to grab the ends of his long hair and scream for help. Hearing the commotion, a neighbour leant out of a window and shouted, 'Oi!'
Nguyen, 24, who is not a Muslim, then ran off and the woman hurried home to her parents who called an ambulance.
She was taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting and treated for severe bruising and swelling. She couldn't open her eyes for two weeks.
Speaking to the Wimbledon Guardian after the night-time attack she said she was "grateful to be alive".
She said: "I couldn't sleep at all [before he was caught]. I'd be too scared of shutting my eyes and anything black freaked me out because he was dressed all in black but it's better now because I have really good support from friends and family and I'm grateful that I'm still alive. It could have been so much worse."
Nguyen continued to patrol the streets in a burka until a group of Rowan Park men who had heard about the attack, recognised him as he walked along the road carrying a bag containing a hammer.
He tried to run away when they challenged him but the three men pinned him down after a short chase and called the police.
He was later charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
Merton's top cop, chief superintendent Stuart Macleod, wrote in his weekly message after the attack: "I would like to formally record my thanks to the alert members of the public for tackling this man and detaining him."
Nguyen, a former drama student who had lost touch with his family after moving to Mitcham from Waltham Forest in north-east London, pleaded guilty to the offences on May 22.
He was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday.
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