THE victim of a daylight mugging has heaped praise on the man who leapt from a bus and wrestled with the thief after a chase.
Joanne Cheong, 49, was dragged to the floor after churchgoing university student Michael Sarpong sneaked up behind her and snatched her bag in The Highlands, Edgware, last August.
Ifeanyi Obinwa saw the robbery unfold from a passing bus and without thinking twice, dashed after the mugger.
Although he twice struggled free, 19-year-old Sarpong, the son of a Pentecostal bishop, was snared by police after Mr Obinwa held on to his baseball cap and handed it to officers for forensic testing.
Ms Cheong, a Malaysian national, was taken to hospital with whiplash and bruising to her head and arms, and said the incident has had a devastating impact.
She said: "My life has completely changed because of what happened that day. I used to walk everywhere but now I have to take buses or cabs because every time I hear footsteps or see someone in the street, I panic.
"I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and having nightmares about it. It's ruined my life.
"When my head hit the ground the first thing I thought was, 'Am I dead?'
"I was so scared. But I want to thank Mr Obinwa for his bravery that day. He's my angel. You don't expect strangers to go to that kind of trouble to help someone. He could have been putting his life at risk for me.
"Having said that, I have told him that he should be careful with his courage because if he was ever hurt because of his bravery, it would bring me more misery."
Mr Obinwa says it was pure instinct that made him give chase and said that he was just trying to do his bit to help out in the community.
The 26-year-old from Burnt Oak said: "I didn't think twice about chasing him.
"It's a terrible thing to happen to someone and I guess it was just a gut reaction to try to catch him.
"Hopefully, I won't see anything like that happen again and I do think the area is generally free from that kind of thing, but I would definitely do the same again."
The pair spoke to the Observer after Sarpong, from Essex, avoided jail when he was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court on Tuesday.
Sarpong admitted robbery. He was given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
But Ms Cheong believes the sentence was too lenient.
She said: "When you commit a serious crime that ruins some-one's life, you should be punished. I'm so grateful to Mr Obinwa and the police but the justice system has let them and me down."
