Flak after store brawl goes online

A sister of two men involved in an Auckland supermarket brawl said they were not troublemakers but ‘‘good humble blokes’’.

In a Facebook post, the woman said her brothers were defending themselves from a group of men they did not know, who were ‘‘looking for trouble’’.

‘‘My brothers were not the instigators, their hands were forced and they only did what any other human will do ... defend themselves.’’

They were two of several men throwing punches in a brawl that broke out in Pak’nSave Mangere on Tuesday evening.

Those fighting were pulled apart by security staff and bystanders, with some shoppers even using trolleys to separate the men.

In her post, Anaua Tuihalangingie slated bystanders for recording video of the fight and sharing it on social media which she argued created ‘‘ignorant’’ xenophobia.

‘‘Those who recorded the incident and posted it up for the world to see ... you invited the illinformed opinions from various individuals and groups to label you, me, Polynesians as uneducated [and] animals.’’

On Wednesday, Pak’nSave’s parent company Foodstuffs NZ confirmed the fight occurred and said it was ‘‘thankfully’’ over very quickly.

‘‘Obviously this behaviour is completely inappropriate and it was a rather unpleasant experience for other shoppers,’’ said spokeswoman Antoinette Laird.

Police were called at 9.20pm but most of the people involved had already dispersed before officers arrived.