MIDTOWN EAST — An expectant father was pummeled into a coma by a stranger who attacked him without provocation outside a Midtown restaurant, police said.
Arber “Ben” Bruncaj, 42, underwent emergency surgery in which doctors removed a part of his skull after being attacked outside Empire Steak House by convicted killer Shu "Richard" Ng, 40, police said.
He was punched on Aug. 26 but his condition worsened last week and he slipped into a coma, according to police sources and a crowdfunding page.
The attack occurred as Bruncaj and his pregnant wife were having a night out at the steakhouse, at 151 E. 50th St., with his cousin and his cousin’s wife, according to the crowdfunding page which was set up by Bruncaj's cousin, Faton Bruncaj, to cover Bruncaj's medical expenses.
As Bruncaj and his cousin were speaking with a restaurant manager, Ng, who was attending a birthday party at the eatery, walked in a circle around the group and cold-cocked Bruncaj in the head, leveling him with a single punch and causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement, according to a police source.
EMS transported him to Bellevue Hospital where doctors removed a section of his skull to relieve swelling, police said in a criminal complaint.
According to the crowdfunding page, Bruncaj is in critical condition and is “touch and go." The page said he could face permanent damage from the attack.
More than $30,000 of a goal of $50,000 had been raised for him as of Thursday afternoon.
Bruncaj, whose wife is expecting a baby girl in February, works as a resident manager at a condo tower in Downtown Brooklyn, according to his LinkedIn page.
Ng managed to flee the scene but people at the party he was at gave his information to police, who tracked him on Sept. 6 to Forest Hills Hospital, where he was seeking treatment for an infection in his hand that police believe stemmed from punching Bruncaj, according to a police source.
Officers arrested him and prosecutors charged him with assault, officials said.
A judge ordered him held on $250,000 bail and he is due back in court on Friday, records show.
Richard Ng. Courtesy of Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Ng has a violent past, including serving more than 15 years in state prison for a 1994 manslaughter conviction which a police source said involved a gun.
He was released in 2010, according to Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records, and completed parole in 2014, records show.
Jorge Vasquez, an attorney hired by Ng, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An employee of Empire Steakhouse confirmed the attack but declined to comment.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the year Ng's parole ended.
