Police trespass mum from mall
A group of Chinese women have been trespassed from Sylvia Park after things turned sour with security guards.
On September 9, Yvone Zhang along with her six-month-old baby, sister and two friends went shopping at the Auckland mall New Zealand’s largest shopping centre.
The group, which first shared their story with Chinese news website Skykiwi, spent about $2000 at shops such as Zara, Cue and Forever New, Zhang said.
After Zhang paid for her items at Forever New and attempted to leave the store she was stopped by a security guard, she told Stuff.
The guard accused her of stealing items at Sylvia Park a week earlier, Zhang said.
The group were taken to an inspection room where the guard told them to write down their names and addresses, Zhang said. ‘‘I felt really angry.’’ Security guards called in police who asked for identification from the group. Police left the room for one and a half hours while the women waited, she said.
The women felt the treatment was ‘‘unacceptable’’ and asked for an interpreter which was refused at first by staff, Zhang said.
A Chinese policeman arrived and said the group needed to write down their names and addresses before they could leave, otherwise they would be taken to the police station, Zhang said.
Police issued all four women with trespass notices banning them from visiting Sylvia Park for two years. Zhang felt she was a victim of racism, she said.
Sylvia Park’s Facebook page received a raft of complaints following the incident. A spokesperson from Kiwi Property, which owns the mall, said it was taking the claims on social media ‘‘very seriously’’.
‘‘As a result we have completed an investigation into this incident and stand by the police’s decision to issue a trespass notice,’’ its spokesperson said.
‘‘We can confirm there was both suspicious activity and disruptive behaviour that led to this action.’’
Inspector Steve Clark said police were asked by management to issue trespass notices. ‘‘This is their legal right to do so,’’ Clark said.
Kiwi Property welcomed the individuals involved to contact them directly to discuss the situation further, its spokesperson said.