POLICE are treating an attack on a Belfast taxi driver who was punched and spat at as a racially-motivated hate crime.
The man was also subjected the racial slurs during the incident, which occurred in the Talbot Street area of the city centre at around 11.10pm on Saturday.
It comes after the PSNI revealed this week that latest figures for race hate crimes in Northern Ireland are at their highest level since records began.
"There is no place for hate, racism or violence in our communities and everyone has the right to feel safe and treated with dignity and respect," said the PSNI's Inspector Moutray of Saturday's incident.
Lost consciousness
Police said the taxi driver, a man aged in his 30s, was in the Talbot Street area in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter when he was approached by two men and a woman.
One of men became aggressive after he was refused a lift due to the taxi driver having a pre-arranged booking.
"He became aggressive, using racial slurs, and proceeded to spit on the taxi driver twice, as well as punching his car window," said Inspector Moutray.
"As the taxi driver exited his vehicle, he was punched in the face by the man, causing him to hit the ground and lose consciousness.
"As he got back up, the second man punched him in the face again, causing cuts to the victim's mouth."
The suspects made off on foot in the direction of the city centre, stopping briefly in the Hill Street area.
Police say they are treating the unprovoked attack as a racially-motivated hate crime and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
"The area was fairly busy at the time as would be expected for a Saturday evening and we'd ask anyone who witnessed this assault to get in touch," added Inspector Moutray.
"The woman is described as wearing a black dress, while both men are described as being of muscular build and were wearing a white shirt and red T-shirt."
'Racist violence is spiralling out of control'
In a separate incident, police revealed on Friday they were investigating a report of racially-motivated harassment in the Strathfoyle area of Derry.
The PSNI said it had received a report that a family living in the area had received verbal abuse over a number of weeks, while mud and water balloons had been thrown at their property.
"A number of young people have been spoken to by police in relation to this matter, which is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime," added a spokesperson.
Earlier this week, latest figures from the PSNI revealed race hate crimes had risen significantly compared to the previous year.
For the 12 months until March 31, 2026, there were 1,507 race crimes recorded, an increase of 320 on the previous 12 months.
It marked the highest 12-month levels recorded since the data series began in 2004/05.
"Racist violence is spiralling out of control in Northern Ireland," said Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland Director.
"These shocking figures must be a wake-up call for political leaders.
"For years, minoritised communities have warned that racism is becoming normalised and these record figures show those warnings were not heeded."
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