SE Portland bar robbed at gunpoint, owner and son demand answers

By Adrian Thomas

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    PORTLAND Oregon (KPTV) — A bar owner and his son in Southeast Portland are searching for answers after their bar was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday night.

Portland Police confirmed Happy Sing bar at Southeast Powell and SE 112th Ave. was robbed just before midnight on Wednesday, and there is an ongoing investigation.

Dong Jing has owned Happy Sing for the last four years. He and his son Keith Jing tell FOX 12 the bar survived the pandemic, and has faced other vandalism like multiple broken windows in the last year, but nothing quite as scary as what happened Wednesday night.

In surveillance video the suspect, a man in a dark coat and mask, can be seen coming into the bar and pointing a gun at Dong and demanding money. The Jing’s say the man took about $1,500.

“It was already midnight at that time,” said Keith. “So he [Dong] called me and informed me about it. I was shocked, I was initially furious.”

For the Jings, what happened to them they say is part of a larger issue of businesses in Southeast Portland, particularly those owned by the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community, dealing with an increase in break-ins and robberies. A night after the Jing’s bar was robbed, business owners in the Southeast Portland AAPI community met with local elected officials and law enforcement to express their concerns. Dong says while what happened to him was terrifying, it won’t slow him down.

“I want to keep doing business,” said Dong. “But, I want to see a greater effort from the city and law enforcement in being there for small businesses.”

For Keith, he says his father being robbed at gunpoint has changed his perspective.

“It’s a life-changing incident,” said Keith “He’s always been there throughout my life, my father, and I’ve never had that thought of losing him.”

Portland police say right now they’re not sharing any suspect information connected to the armed robbery at Happy Sing.

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