A University of New Brunswick student newspaper is reeling after their news editor was booked for public mischief and giving police false information this week after he claimed to have been the victim of racially motivated attacks.
Rayan Malik, who came to Canada via Dubai, was charged by police and told to give up his Pakistani passport after he had reported that four white men had beaten him up. He also had claimed to have been attacked again later that day on his way to work at The Baron, the university’s newspaper.
The incident comes on the heels of a dust-up at a UNB pub days before between white and brown combatants. According to Baron editor-in-chief David Shipley, that fracas, originally thought to be racially motivated, turned out to be a scrap over one of the men’s girlfriend.
Police became suspicious of Malik’s claims when they found that he had no visible bruises or lacerations on his body, nor any damage done to the jacket he had been wearing. After examining where Malik had swiped his student card on campus, they determined he had not been where he said he was during the alleged attacks.
Shipley would not comment on the case, noting that in court hearings Malik was told not to speak to media, and that The Baron was following suit.
In a March 16 interview with CBC, Malik called on the university to tighten up security in the wake of his alleged assault. “I think the university should take some strict measures in the near future to rectify this.”
Malik has pled guilty to charges of public mischief and leading police on a false investigation.
