Council flags are flying at half-mast in honour of a good Samaritan who died days after he was allegedly attacked by shoplifting youths outside a local shopping strip.
Van Viet Truong was critically injured after he rushed to the aid of a fellow retail worker trying to stop the group stealing clothes at Sunshine in Melbourne’s west on Saturday, police allege.
The Hong Hung Asian Grocery store owner was rushed to hospital but died on Wednesday afternoon, police confirmed on Thursday.
Floral tributes outside the Hampshire Road store, which has been a mainstay on the strip for more than two decades, were growing on Thursday afternoon as mourners stopped to pay their respects.
A note on the shop’s roller door said it would be closed until further notice due to an unexpected family emergency.
The 60-year-old’s passing has devastated local traders including Julie Tran, whose Vietnamese restaurant Thuan An is doors down from where the street scuffle unfolded.
“He was always really friendly to all the businesses. When we walked past his store he’d always say ‘hi’ and smile,” she told AAP.
“His wife and his mother-in-law were always there with him, it was the three of them constantly there running the store.”
A listing for the business to be sold was posted online in 2025.
Three boys aged 12, 13 and 15 and two 14-year-old girls were charged with a series of assault-related offences including affray, violent disorder and intentionally causing serious injury.
Charges against the 13-year-old boy have since been withdrawn.
The four other youths were remanded to appear before a children’s court at a later date.
Detectives will consider upgrading charges following Truong’s death.
Angered traders have long called for help from the council and state government in addressing rising anti-social behaviour, crime and mental health concerns.
“They could have made a change. It didn’t have to take a person to die for them actually try to push for this further,” Tran said.
Since opening her restaurant 18 years ago, Tran said the shopping strip has become a hub for crime and anti-social behaviour.
“We’re here to make a living. We shouldn’t have to be on edge every time we go to work,” she said.
Crime in the Brimbank council area is at its highest rate in six years and is almost nine per cent higher than the Victorian average, recent Crime Statistics Agency figures show.
Traders fear round-the-clock police patrols in Melbourne’s west following the attack could be a short-term fix.
Laverton MP Sarah Connolly and new police minister Paul Edbrooke met with traders on Wednesday to hear their concerns.
Truong was described as a pillar of the community, a generous supporter and a kind friend by Brimbank City Council mayor Virginia Tachos.
The council will continue to lobby the state government for a sustained increase in police numbers, Tachos said.
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