RUBBED WRONG WAY
Qns. spa sicko swings hammer after he’s denied ‘happy ending’
They really rubbed him the wrong way.
A customer flew into a rage at a Queens spa when he didn’t get a “happy ending” to his foot massage and attacked two workers with a hammer — before smashing their piggy bank tip jar to pieces, cops said Sunday.
The wild rampage was caught on surveillance video released late Saturday by cops who are asking the public’s help tracking down the brute.
The mayhem began when the creepy customer demanded his money back from a 55-year-old worker at Tao Spa Bodywork on 40th Road near Main St. in Flushing around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, cops said.
He had ordered a foot massage and was unhappy his request for a so-called happy ending — an erotic massage — was turned down, according to police sources.
When the worker refused him a refund for the foot massage, he went berserk and pulled out a hammer, dragged her into the 24-hour spa’s front waiting room and punched her in the face, the video shows.
Two other employees tried to come to the woman’s aid, but the man grabbed one of them, a 56-year-old woman, by the throat and pushed her against the wall while brandishing the hammer, the video shows.
The women finally gave the customer $40 to get rid of him, police said. Still unsatisfied, he shattered a yellow piggy bank sitting on the front counter with his hammer, snatched the tip money scattered on the counter and dashed off, cops said.
Medics treated both attacked workers at the scene.
On Sunday afternoon, several women in short skirts and leggings were seen standing outside Tao Spa Bodywork asking passersby if they wanted massages. One woman told the Daily News that one of the victims, wearing a white coat in the video, is too scared to come back to work.
“It’s really scary,” said Andy Chen, 32, a server at a restaurant next door. “The man is insane. It’s crazy. He’s violent.”
One woman said she admired the spa employees for not going along with their attacker’s initial request.
“Massage places shouldn’t do that. Maybe men want that, but women don’t want to do that. They have families. They just want to make a living,” said Emily Chen, 30, a restaurant worker across the street. “Why hurt someone?” The suspect is described as Hispanic, between 20 and 30, 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds with black hair. He was wearing a gray hooded coat, dark-colored jeans, tan work boots and a light-colored backpack.
He brought the hammer with him to the spa, police sources said, and may have been a construction worker or day laborer.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.