Megan Sarah Louise Walton, a 27-year-old from Auckland, who was arrested on February 12 for being involved in a racial attack in Huntly, pleaded guilty in the Hamilton District Court.
Aucklander Mehpara Khan and her friends had lodged a complaint with the police when during a break on their trip back to the city from Huntly, they crossed paths with Ms Walton who verbally assaulted them.
The incident occured when Ms Khan and her friends stopped to use the public toilet in Huntly. Ms Khan recorded a video of the assault and shared it on her Twitter account, where Ms Walton, who appears to be drunk, threw cans of alcohol at her while shouting: "Now get the f*** off, you ugly f****** Muslim b****."
Ms Walton also tried to punch Ms Khan which she avoided. She also calmly responded to the attempted physical assault by stating, “I was born here. I have the right to be here.”
Ms Walton continued her tirade on the girls, threw the beer can at them and then went back to the toilet block. Ms Khan and her friends, shocked and terrified with the incident, continued their journey back to Auckland.
Ms Khan reported the incident at the police station in Manukau and The video posted along with Ms Khan’s statement, “Who said Islamophobia doesn't exist. This just happened in Huntley. I'm shaking,” caught attention on social media and had more than 2000 retweets and hundreds of supportive comments from fellow Kiwis.
“It is very disappointing but not surprising, watching the video of Mehpara Khan being attacked in Huntly, to see this kind of event happening. Muslim women are often the ones who bear the brunt of attacks by strangers in public places,” Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) said.
“We encourage all Muslim women to report instances of harassment and abuse, either to us or the Human Rights Commission and to the New Zealand Police where appropriate. We offer our support to the victims of this attack,” IWCNZ added.
Ms Walton appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Monday, February 13 and pleaded guilty to behaving in an insulting manner that was likely to cause violence and to two charges of assault to victim Mehpara Khan.
Watch the video here:
Who said islamophobia doesn't exist. This just happened in Huntley. I'm shaking. pic.twitter.com/yoVMNON1rA
— Mehpara Khan (@MehparaK) February 11, 2017