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Attacker asks victim not to call police
Saturday, 21 February 2009
A manwho broke into a Porirua home, pinned a woman to her bed and punched her repeatedly, apologised and asked her not to call police before fleeing.
The attack happened as the woman, in her 40s, was preparing for bed in her Whitby home about 11.15pm on Wednesday. "The first thing that went through my mind was: `this is not a burglary, he's going to rape me'.
The woman had just come out of an ensuite bathroom and saw the man come out of her walk-in wardrobe."
In a frenzy she lashed out with her arms and legs but the intruder managed to throw her on the bed, punching her repeatedly on the face and covering her mouth to stifle the screams.
"But I wasn't going to let that happen, I was going to fight.
"He was covering my mouth and nose as well."
But the woman kept fighting, punching his head and body and pulling down the clothing he used to cover the lower part of his face. For a couple of seconds I thought, `My God, I'm going to suffocate'. He repeated "sorry, sorry" before leaving the house.
The man soon stopped, apologising to her, saying he was doing a "job" for someone but had got the wrong address.
"The whole experience still feels so surreal, but he had no right.
The woman received medical treatment for cuts and bruises and, though she said one side of her face looked ghastly, she was just thankful things had not been worse. And I'm very worried that he will do it again to someone else. And I'm very worried that he will do it again to someone else.
The man is described as dark skinned, clean shaven, of medium build and about 1. He believed the man got into the house through an unlocked door. He was possibly wearing a dark top.75 metres (5ft 7in) tall.
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Police would like to hear from anyone who saw any suspicious persons or vehicles around Staithes Drive North in Whitby on the night of the attack, or from anyone who has had anything similar happen to them
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New stage of Manukau police hub open
By NICOLA WILLIAMS – Eastern Courier Tuesday, 10 February 2009
TIMI TIKKANEN/Eastern Courier
GRAND OPENING: Police minister and Papakura MP Judith Collins opened the second stage of the Manukau policing hub complex today.
The second stage of a Manukau policing hub was opened today by police minister Judith Collins.
It features a tunnel between the Hub and the Manukau courthouse for prisoner transfers.
Part two of the Wiri Station Rd police station has a 24-hour cell block and will be home to team policing, road policing, a file management centre and a serious incidents room. .
The second stage cost $22 million bringing the total cost of the hub to $35 million.
"I am a firm believer that the foundation of any police service is officers out on the streets and the neighbourhoods where crime occurs.
"I am confident that this state-of-the-art new station will enable the police to serve the people of Manukau City and Counties-Manukau with professionalism and pride."
She expressed her pride in the New Zealand police and her belief they are among the finest in the world. Being visible and being responsive is one of the greatest deterrents to criminals."
Ms Collins says additional manpower, stronger legislation and community support will make a significant impact on the front lines of crime.
"However, there is no room for complacency, during my term as Police Minister I will be asking for even higher levels of excellence and professionalism.
The Hub is now the police headquarters for Manukau which was previously located in Otahuhu.
Among those at the ceremony were assistant commissioner Steve Shortland, district commander Mike Bush and deputy police commissioner Lynne Provost.
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Would-be thief good for a laugh
– Thursday, 29 January 2009
Is this the dumbest crook in Christchurch?
Police allege a 28-year-old man burgled a Prebbleton house, set fire to it and knocked himself out while trying to make his getaway.
The homeowner's family said the man tried to steal a drum kit, which meant the plasma-screen television set he also tried to take would not fit in his car.
"And he forgot the remote," the homeowner's son said, stifling a laugh.
"He's allegedly stolen property and then set a fire in the house," Tarawhiti said.
Detective Sergeant Ross Tarawhiti said the man would appear in the Christchurch District Court today charged with burglary, arson and resisting arrest.20pm.
Greg Kitson said the events began when his wife went to his parents' Shands Road house about 1. His parents had left on holiday that morning.
She called her husband, who was working close toby.
Christine Kitson noticed a fire in the kitchen and heard noises coming from upstairs. Looking around, the Kitsons realised a burglary was in progress. He found a man upstairs "incoherent and examining like he was having a seizure".
"There was a bit of chemical warfare going on there," he said.
Greg Kitson said the man appeared "pretty out of it", possibly on drugs.
The fire was small and the Kitsons were able to put it out.
The fire was small and the Kitsons were able to put it out."
The Kitsons suspected the man had fallen and hit his head taking the drum kit down a spiral staircase from the loft in the garage. "He was a really bad burglar.
"He tried to tell police he had just got back from Japan, but he had 30 Malaysian ringgit.
"He tried to take some foreign currency," Kitson said. It's worth about $2. He can keep it and count it in his jail cell. Ha!"
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Scared cat causes jail stabbing
Friday, 02 January 2009
A convictedrapist and murderer nearing the end of his prison sentence stabbed a fellow inmate six times in the neck for scaring his cat.
The Boxing Day attack was sparked after a prisoner entered the living room he shared with another man in Wellington's Rimutaka Prison, startling a feral cat the pair had befriended. . The man would have been killed if a third prisoner had not stepped in, Corrections Association president Beven Hanlon said.
The cat scampered away when the prisoner entered the room."
It is understood the attacker was in prison for rape and murder.
"That prisoner is lucky to be alive.
Corrections acting southern assistant regional manager Tony Howe confirmed there had been an attack with a "makeshift weapon" during a dispute over a feral cat the prisoners had befriended.
His attacker is now in a high-security area.
The injured prisoner was taken to Hutt Hospital under escort but returned to Rimutaka on December 28.
Violence in the self-care unit was rare.
Police are investigating, and Mr Howe said Corrections would begin its own investigation.
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Unsettled weather for Christmas Day
By MICHAEL FOX – Monday, 22 December 2008
Kiwis hoping to bask in sunshine on Christmas Day are being warned the weather might not come to the party. .
MetService spokesperson Bob McDavitt said the outlook for Christmas Day remained uncertain.
"While it's unlikely to be windy in most places, it may not be all that settled.
"It all depends on how quickly this depression heads towards the Chathams," he said."
The forecast is likely to be good news for farmers in parts of the country, he said. We will have a clearer idea on Tuesday.
"The coast between Napier and Gisborne is now the driest part of New Zealand, with Gisborne airport reporting only 14mm so far this month and Napier airport 16mm."
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Art wrecko
The Monday, 15 December 2008
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ART WRECKO: this collection of wrecked cars, washing machines, lawnmowers, oil drums, tyres, weedeaters, breadmakers and other dumped rubbish is art. Journee des barricades, 2008 was created by British artists Heather and Ivan Morison across Wellington’s Stout St yesterday as part of Massey University’s One Day Sculpture project.
Journee des barricades, 2008 was created by British artists Heather and Ivan Morison across Wellington's Stout St yesterday as part of Massey University's One Day Sculpture project.
Itlooks as if it could be the scene of a disaster movie, but this collection of wrecked cars, washing machines, lawnmowers, oil drums, tyres, weedeaters, breadmakers and other dumped rubbish is art.
This work was set up early on Sunday and was to be cleared by early today. The initiative, supported by Wellington City Council, allows for artworks to be exhibited for 24 hours. . Its creators are used to making public sculptures in 2006, they set up a truck spilling its load of 25,000 flowers across Bristol city centre
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Burglaries blamed on summer weather, lax security
The Thursday, 11 December 2008
Police are warning homeowners to be careful about leaving doors or windows open during warm summerevenings after a spate of seven after-dark burglaries over seven nights.
Detective Sergeant Martin Todd of the Wellington Police burglary squad said police were investigating a series of late-night burglaries at houses and apartments. .
"These crimes are a real concern to us. The intruders gained entrance through open windows.
Four of the burglaries were in the Newtown/Mt Cook area, two were in Seatoun and one was in Karori. The offenders appear very motivated to break into occupied homes and apartments at night and the chances of a confrontation with householders are much higher," Mr Todd said.
Laptop computers, iPods, digital cameras and cash were among the items stolen.
He said the recent burglaries followed an unrelated rash of similar crimes over the last two months in Mt Cook, Newtown and Brooklyn.
During two of the burglaries the occupants woke and confronted the burglars, who then fled.Install some good security stays on your windows, lock your doors, deck or balcony ranchsliders and check that they're locked before you go to bed.
"As the nights get warmer we really encourage people to be more safety conscious. If they're secure, burglars will move onto the next one.
"Burglars are very quick to move along from house to house, flat to flat, trying doors and windows."
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A million homes ‘unhealthy’
By NICK CHURCHOUSE Monday, 01 December 2008
A million substandard homes are each up for a $22,000 bill to meet recommendations from a new national housing performance report.
The survey found one in four Kiwis say the poor quality of their home has made someone living in them sick, and indicated the severe cost of poorly performing homes.
The survey of 3526 New Zealanders, conducted in October and November, is the culmination of a two-year $300,000 research project by the Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Proposing a mandatory rating system to apply to all homes when they were sold or rented, the report estimates the cost of bringing homes up to minimum health and efficiency standards would be $20 million over a decade, or roughly $22,000 a household. .6 million homes were built between 1900 and the 1970s, before insulation became mandatory in 1979, Mr Neilson said.
Two-thirds of New Zealand's 1.
Registered Master Builders Federation chief executive Warwick Quinn said the report wrapped up a widespread issue, but solutions were fragmented across disparate pockets of the community and industry and had little government support.
Most homes built before 1979 would not meet current building code regulations, he said. "Having a consolidated approach would be very helpful," he said."
While there were 80,000 homes renovated every year, Mr Neilson said the odds were stacked against New Zealanders doing up their homes for their own good because the benefits were largely unknown. "The [suggested] efficiency rating would help bring that to the surface.
The survey showed 69 per cent of people thought they could not afford to upgrade their home and half said they were too uninformed to do it.
"Most people assume the cost is much more than it is and the benefits are much less," he said.
Mr Neilson said the residential real estate market did not value "invisible" improvements like insulation and water efficiency, so house owners' priorities lay with marketable benefits such as decorating, improving fixtures or adding a deck.
Mr Neilson said the residential real estate market did not value "invisible" improvements like insulation and water efficiency, so house owners' priorities lay with marketable benefits such as decorating, improving fixtures or adding a deck.
The estimated average $22,000 bill to make a home energy-efficient and warm was realistic, and might become more palatable if householders could see the long-term benefits as energy prices rose.
Domestic Energy Users Network spokeswoman Molly Melhuish said harnessing 80,000 annual home renovations to improve living standards was a huge opportunity and a mandatory rating system was the only way to do it."
Ms Melhuish said there was a strong lobby against mandatory rating but she believed it was a fair approach in order for house hunters to get accurate and dependable information.
"There is a limited number of householders who are driven by eco-thoughts – pricing issues are a major motivator. Research showed the worst places for ill health caused by living conditions coincided with poor local populations who avoided using electric heating because of the cost.
The report was admirable but ignored the need to improve home-heating solutions to battle dampness, a greater health threat than cold, she said."
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"Their houses, even if you insulate them, are not going to become healthy houses
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Calculus exam heavy going
The Wednesday, 19 November 2008
HEAVY GOING: Genevieve Krefft balances a hefty calculus text book on her head – "symbolising my defeat". The 17-year-old had just come from her level-three calculus exam yesterday.
Asked about her chances of passing, she said: "Let's hope so.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve Kreftt, a year 13 Wellington High School pupil, said she ran out of time during the tough three-hour calculus exam, which she was just happy to put behind her."
There may also be an additional reason why some pupils are finding exams tricky. I don't want to predict anything.
Deputy chief executive Bali Haque said the papers were checked several times, but errors occasionally slipped through. .
The calculus exam had a set of brackets missing on a formula sheet while the biology exam wrongly labelled a graph on movement of larvae in relation to high-tide times. "Where an error occurs in an exam paper, candidates will not be disadvantaged," he emphasised.
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Chippindale’s last moments haunt son
The Saturday, 06 September 2008
The son of Ron Chippindale, killed by a teenage dangerous driver, says he is haunted by the thought his father would have heard, then seen, the car roaring toward him before being hit.
In Wellington District Court yesterday, Porirua teenager Henry Lingman, 19, who drove the car that killed the air accident investigator in February, was ordered to do nine months' home detention, 240 hours' community work, and was disqualified from driving for two years.
Lingman had been driving unsupervised on a learner's licence, the second time he had been caught doing that.
He had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving resulting in death.
He said it was affecting his life, job and relationships.
Mr Chippindale's son, Dennis, told the court yesterday how awful it had been to get the call telling him of the accident; at having to drive past the accident scene to see his mother, and to have to identify his 74-year-old father's body.
It would haunt him that his father, out on his morning walk, would have first heard, then seen, the vehicle roaring toward him.
His mother was no longer the self-reliant and confident person he had known.
Judge Peter Butler said the crash had come about because of Lingman's speed, estimated at between 86kmh and 94kmh, and his inexperience in trying to speed up when the car began fishtailing, rather than slowing down.
Lingman, having forgotten his work boots, had been returning home along Whitford Brown Ave in Porirua on February 12 and was travelling above the 70kmh speed limit when he lost control of the car, mounted the footpath and hit Mr Chippindale.
Judge Butler said Lingman had received an infringement notice in 2006 for driving a car unsupervised.
Lingman was genuinely remorseful and a letter he had written to the Chippindale family showed his sincerity.
Lingman had not driven since, Mr Ross said, and was tormented by what had happened.
Defence lawyer Alasdair Ross said Lingman had shown courage in wanting to meet the family of the man he killed.