The trio approached the woman at about 8.15am and assaulted her before stealing her car. Photo / Doug Sherring
A woman was viciously attacked by a group of teenage girls this
morning in the carpark of Auckland's Sylvia Park shopping centre.
The trio approached the woman at about 8.15am and assaulted her before stealing her car.
Two men were with them but did not participate in the assault.
Police are appealing for information from the public about the assault and the offenders.
The victim's car has not been located. It is a silver Nissan Cefiro with the licence plate CRY691.
A police spokeswoman said the victim suffered minor injuries.
It was initially thought her injuries were much worse but she was now "doing ok".
She said the attack had traumatised the victim.
A woman in the security office at the mall refused to comment.
Centre manager Jonathan Douglas told the Herald he had been notified of the incident.
He confirmed the woman was an employee of Max, a clothing store in Sylvia Park.
"Our thoughts and concerns go out to the victim," he said.
"We
are hopeful that through the CCTV footage picked up of the incident and
given to the police that the police will quickly find the culprits.
This appears a completely random act of violence on an employee of Max
and as mentioned our thoughts are with her and her family at this time."
Mr Douglas said security patrols at the mall's carpark areas had been increased.
The manager of the Max store was obviously upset about the incident.
"We don't want to talk about it," she said.
She said the staff member's privacy prevented her commenting, and then hung up the phone.
If
you see the car or know who the offenders are call 111 immediately.
Information can also be passed on to the Auckland police on 09 304 6400.
They smash the service station's glass doors using a hammer and axe
handle before kicking their way through. Armed with a large bag, their
faces covered and hands gloved, it's clear what they have come to do.
But
before they can steal a thing, the station attendant activates a secret
weapon. A thick white mist fills the inside of the store, billowing
quickly towards the would-be thieves as they try to climb through the
shattered door.
The pair are puzzled, but they don't stick around to find out what is going on.
They
have just been introduced to a fog cannon, the latest crime prevention
method being implemented by service stations nationwide.
The men
broke into the Mobil service station on East Tamaki Rd at 3.10am on
December 23. It is the third time since July the station has been hit in
a similar smash and grab. Mobil petrol station CCTV cameras show the
offenders smashing their way into the store before the fog is released.
Photo / Supplied The first two times cash and cigarettes were pinched, but this time the fog cannon cut the thieves off at the pass.
A number of other service stations have also been broken into and police are investigating a link between them.
Between
three and five offenders with their faces either covered or hidden
behind hoods, charge at the doors using weapons to smash the glass and
force entry.
Detective Senior Sergeant Kevin Tiernan suspected the same group was behind the smash and grabs.
"It is probably a core group of four or five and then other people turn up," he said.
"I suspect they are all somehow linked or known to each other."
Mr
Tiernan said the offenders all appear to be males under 25. Police have
released CCTV images of some of the people involved in a bid to
identify and arrest them.
"In one robbery an attendant was attacked and ended up with a cut to the head," he said.
"In
the most recent one the attendant was grabbed around the throat.
Generally they have managed to run off and lock themselves in an
office."
Mr Tiernan said at Mobil last week the attendant
activated the fog cannon soon after the two robbers started to smash
their way in.
"The cannon fills the store up with fog, there is zero visibility," he said.
"One of the offenders got through the smashed door, but once he was in realised it was a hopeless case and they left."
One of the offenders got through the smashed door, but once he was in realised it was a hopeless case and they left.
Detective Senior Sergeant Kevin Tiernan
Mr Tiernan said fog cannons were "relatively new" to police but were a great crime prevention mechanism.
"It prevents offenders from getting anything," he said.
"This
is only the second one I have come across. Recently there was a service
station break-in but it was unattended, closed for the night. When they
broke in the cannon was obviously set with the alarm and they triggered
it. It filled the store up with smoke and they left."
Mr Tiernan
was confident police would find those responsible for the spate of
robberies. "Some of them are using stolen cars and when we recover those
we examine them, looking for forensic evidence," he explained.
Protect Global New Zealand trade distributor and consultant Andre Weibel, who sells fog cannons, said many retailers had them.
They cost up to $5000 to install but once they were in, could save a lot more than that by preventing theft.
Mr Weibel said recently more petrol stations and dairies had been installing fog cannons.
Luxury fashion stores Prada and Louis Vuitton also installed cannons.
"Standard units cover 2700cu/m per minute with fog," he said. Can you help? Call Counties Manukau police on 09 261 1300 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Q&A
What is a fog cannon?
A security device that fills rooms with dense fog in a matter of seconds. It is activated by an emergency button. What is the fog made of?
A combination of glycol and water forced through a heated element. It is used in smoke machines and smells of peppermint. Is it dangerous?
No. The fog is harmless to humans, animals, fixtures and IT gear. What happens to the fog?
It clears in about 20 minutes in a well-ventilated room.
These days, people are advised not to hitch hike or pick up hitch
hikers. It could be either party gets hurt, robbed and even killed.
I shook my head when I saw a young girl with a sign. I felt like stopping the car and give her some money to catch a bus.
Today, I met my old flatmate and we recalled our times in Canada. One
of the stupid things I did was agreeing with my Singapore guy friend to
hitch a ride to Toronto. We spent a whole day in freezing winter, and
not one person stopped for us. Other friends scolded us, no body would
give a ride to a couple.
Recently, the police reported that idiots shot at traffic cameras by the motorway. I wrote about street kids standing on the bridge and dropping rocks upon coming traffic. My book was based on many scenarios. Kids with BB guns.
In the books, there were uncontrollable street kids and gangs.
Six teenagers arrested after brutal attack
FAIRFAX NZ
Six young teenagers have been arrested following an attack
and robbery of a woman leaving the Papakura train station on December 15
Six teenagers, some aged as young as 13, have been arrested after they attacked and robbed a young woman in Papakura.
Tian Wang, 23, was attacked near the Papakura Train Station on December 15 after she got off a train at 11pm.
She
had been on her way home from work at a restaurant in Newmarket when
she was attacked by the group of teens who had been on same train.
When
she failed to arrive home, her worried father drove to the station
looking for her. He found her lying in the station carpark, beaten so
badly he could barely recognise her.
They stole her cellphone and stripped her shoes from her.
National MP Dr Jian Yang who has been visiting Wang, said the attack was incredibly vicious.
"They attacked mainly her face. I looked at photos from the day and she's very bruised and swollen," he said.
A police spokeswoman said six teenagers aged from 13 to 16 had now been arrested in relation to the attack and robbery.
"They've all been charged with aggravated robbery and have been remanded in youth custody facilities," she said.
Yang
said the six young teenagers most likely attacked the woman because she
was alone, there was nobody around and she was an easy target.
As he understood it, Wang had a bag on her back, and the attackers came up behind her and pulled on it.
She fell backwards and they surrounded her, attacking her face and stole her belongings, he said.
"It's quite a traumatic attack from a number or people so you can imagine the physcological effects," he said.
"After a major attack like this the girl would still feel concerned and scared, that's why she still needs people around her."
Yang
said the main concern is the extent of her eye injuries, which will
need surgery. She suffered broken bones and now one eye was sitting
lower than the other side he said.
When he visited her in hospital, she covered her face and didn't want to be seen, he said.
The six youths will appear in the Papakura Youth Court on January 8.
Paua, New Zealand's large, edible sea snail, are often found in shallow waters on rocky shores. photo / Kristin Edge
Fancy foraging for fish like your forefathers? Look no further than the fruitful Kiwi foreshore this summer.
Scientists
from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa)
have prepared some handy hints for seafood lovers.
But budding hunter-gatherers are being advised to keep to the recreational limits and to watch their catch size.
Paua,
New Zealand's large, edible sea snail, are often found in shallow
waters on rocky shores. Different regions have different catch
restrictions.
Cockles and pipi are both free and plentiful, says Niwa.
Pipi are found often packed together in dense patches in fast-flowing water in estuaries.
They
can be eaten raw from the shell, put on an open fire or barbecue until
their shells open, or made into fritters. The daily limit is 150 a
person - and take only bigger ones.
Cockles are a shallow-burrowing shellfish. They can be eaten raw, but must be taken from unpolluted sites.
The
daily bag limit is 150 cockles per person per day, apart from in
Auckland and the Coromandel where the limit is 50 per person per day.
Finally
kahawai, the second most caught recreational fish behind snapper, can
be found in most coastal waters, harbours and estuaries. The
recreational limit is 20 fish.
Lara Schreyer, 18, Lena Kalbitzer, 19, Sophia Metz, 18 and Lea Uebelhoer, 18. Photo / Michael Craig
A group of young German backpackers lost precious possessions when
their car was stolen while they were at a beach north of Auckland.
Two
lost their passports, credit cards, international driver licences and
camping equipment while they were enjoying the Goat Island marine
reserve near Leigh.
One also lost a bracelet from her
grandmother, her graduation jumper that had been signed by her
high-school friends, and her camera containing the pictures she has
taken in New Zealand. A car belonging to the German tourists was stolen from the Goat Island Reserve. Photo / Supplied The crime has shattered the four women's first impressions of New Zealand and has left them feeling disoriented.
"We heard so many good things about New Zealand," says Sophia Metz, 18, of Munich.
"We
heard the people are so nice and gentle. That's what we got to know
when we came here first, but now we don't want to leave the country with
that bad memory. All the good memories are overshadowed now by the
theft."
She and her friends, Lea Uebelhoer, 18, Lara Schreyer,
18, and Lena Kalbitzer, 19, have been in New Zealand for just over a
month and plan to stay at least six months.
They are picking strawberries at a berry farm in Riverhead, where they are also staying.
"We went to the beach in the car of Lena and Lara," Ms Metz says.
"We stayed at the beach for five hours [until 5pm yesterday]. We came back to the car and it wasn't there any more."
It
was parked in a legal parking space, she says, and they checked with a
Department of Conservation officer who told them it therefore would not
have been towed.
The women are appealing for people to contact
them if they see the green car, a 1998 Mitsubishi Libero stationwagon,
registration BNR572.
The car cost $3200 and was not insured against theft. They have reported the theft to the police.
Ms
Schreyer says: "We would like to raise awareness for all the other
backpackers not to leave their personal belongings and important stuff
in the car."
Ms Metz says they did not hear back from the police.
"It makes us feel hopeless. Usually that's the people who would be able to help out."
However, a police spokeswoman said: "We did offer them victim support at the time. They said they didn't feel they needed it."
She
says the car's details and other information about the incident were
broadcast among police in the Auckland region at the time the incident
was reported.
"That's as much as we can do when a car has been stolen when there is not any other identifying information at the scene."
Sightings of the car can be reported to l.kalbitzer@gmx.de
