An Indian student - barely in the country for five months - was physically assaulted by five men in broad daylight at Mangere Town Centre on Saturday, January 20.
The fact that the police failed to turn up immediately after the assault had raised serious questions about his perception of New Zealand as a safe and secure destination for international education.
Even worse, the liquor store owner where the injured student eventually took refuge after the un-provoking assault tells the Indian Weekender that it was nothing unusual for them suggesting a bigger malaise facing our town centres.
Jaskaran Singh Chadha has been in the country for only five months when experienced this brazen unprovoked assault last weekend at the hands of a group of thugs.
Mr Chadha is a Level 8 student of Business Studies at Auckland Institute of Studies in Mt Albert and worked part-time for a tax consultation firm in South Auckland.
On Saturday, January 20, like any other working day Mr Chadha was working at Mangere Town Centre doing his job, talking to shoppers about benefits of filing their tax returns.
The entrance of Mangere Town Centre (Image: Google Maps)
It was during his lunch break when Mr Chadha was returning back from the nearby McDonalds at around 3 p.m. when suddenly five well-built men sitting on the chair at the entrance of the mall charged him unprovoked.
“This attack was brazen and came as a total shock to me. I was just returning from my lunch, and these men suddenly started beating me for no reason,” Mr Chadha told The Indian Weekender.
The men punched his face and shoulder and threw him to the ground until he bled from his mouth. Mr Chadha somehow squeezed himself from the ground trying to escape the attack.
“The men punched me with metal knuckles breaking my teeth and badly injuring my jaws and gum,” Mr Chadha recalled the horrific incident.
Liquor Spot inside Mangere Town Centre (Image: Google Maps)
Mr Chaddha suffered injuries to his head, shoulders and face as a result of the blows he received from the assailants before running to a nearby liquor store for refuge.
As he tried to hide behind the counter in the liquor store, the five men chased him and stopped at the entrance only when the store owner and a local security guard present at the store told them to do so.
The alleged offenders then quickly ran off from the location.
However, it was not only the nature of the unprovoked attack alone that appalled Mr Chaddha, it was the failure of the police to turn up to attend the incident – a charge refuted by the police - that has shaken his belief about NZ’s image as a safe and secure destination for international education.
Mr Chaddha had called the police to report the incident and was expecting some sort of help to arrive immediately for reassurance – an expectation that was not met eventually.
While Mr Chaddha maintains that he had called the police immediately after the assault, the police, however, assessed the situation that there was some delay in reporting and the alleged offenders had left the scene by then, thus making an assessment that the situation was not life-threatening and therefore not requiring an immediate visit.
Sergeant Dave Grant, Counties Manukau West Police told the Indian Weekender “There was a 25-minute lapse from the time the assault took place to when Police was notified. The informant had advised Police that the offenders had left the scene and there was no immediate risk or present danger to the victim.
“Priority is always given to incidents involving offending of a more serious nature and situations where there is an immediate threat to a person's safety.
“There are times where police may not be able to respond immediately because of available resources and when the victim called Police again, a number of hours later, he was advised he would need to make the complaint at a station.
Mr Chaddha told The Indian Weekender that he had called the police to report the incident immediately after the assault was and was expecting some sort of help to arrive immediately for reassurance – an expectation that was not met eventually.
When the police did not arrive an hour later, Mr Chadha called again to check if the police were on his way – an expectation again not met.
A little later an ambulance turned up at the location and offered him first aid.
He was then taken to Middlemore Hospital for further medical examination.
He then returned home around 8 p.m. and called the police again requesting to talk to police personnel in person.
While at the hospital, Mr Chadha’s team leader Omar Mashood stayed with him providing support.
On Sunday, January 21, Mr Chadha called 111 again when he did not hear from the police. He was asked to report to the nearest Police Station to lodge his complaint.
“I am very much disappointed in the way police responded to my crisis. I was at the scene of the incident for an hour, hurt and bleeding but the police did not come to assess the situation.
What if I had not run and would have been knocked unconscious while being beaten up?” Mr Chadha asked frustratingly.