TWO juveniles who robbed and assaulted a Chinese university student before spending her money on hot chips have been sentenced on a control order for 18 months.
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The boys, aged 14, pleaded not guilty to robbery in company at Armidale Children's Court on October 10.
The student was on her way to the bank at around 10am on February 15.
Approached by the boys, one on a bike and the other riding a scooter, she was pushed to the ground and her bag was stolen.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Cheryl Hall said the girl then tried to ring 000, but could not get help as a result of her limited English.
“She then had to ring her friend who picked her up and brought her to the police station,” Sergeant Hall said.
“Police were given good descriptions of them and their clothing.
“Later that day they saw people matching the description and picked them up.”
The bag contained Australian and foreign currency, and a number of identifying documents.
They had bought some things, they went into a cafe at Girraween and bought hot chips – that’s how young they were.
- Cheryl Hall.
The two young boys were identified due to the description of their clothing, and the bike and scooter they were riding.
“Police were able to recover a fair bit of the cash,” Sergeant Hall said.
"They had bought some things, they went into a cafe at Girraween and bought hot chips – that’s how young they were.”
The woman had only recently arrived in Armidale from China before the incident occurred.
Magistrate Michael Holmes said the incident involving the student was a very serious assault and robbery.
“The community would expect nothing less in the circumstances than a custodial sentence,” Magistrate Holmes said.
“International students in the town of Armidale need to be protected.”
The 14-year-olds were found guilty and sentenced to an 18-month control order.
They were convicted with a nine-month non-parole period.