MPtries to fight off daylight mugger, punches car
A LabourMP has been robbed in broad daylight on Auckland’s Ponsonby Rd.
Priyanca Radhakrishnan gave chase after she was mugged about 4pm on Friday and tried to grab her handbag back.
‘‘It was a little bit scary because you don’t expect it to happen in broad daylight on a busy street,’’ she said.
Before the mugging, as she was parking her car on an errand, Radhakrishnan says she noticed another driver behaving strangely, and as she opened her car door to put an umbrella back inside, the man ran at her and grabbed her handbag.
‘‘I started screaming, and he actually froze for a second, and he ran back to his car and I chased him. I leaned in the driver’s window and tried to grab it back.’’
She said she punched his car, causing a slight injury to her hand and managed to read the car’s numberplate.
Radhakrishnan had just returned from a parliamentary trip to Bangladesh, where there is a high security alert and she was specifically instructed to be careful of her handbag.
After a trouble-free trip, she was mugged in the most unlikely of places. ‘‘He actually looked a bit nervous. It was very strange - he was very well-dressed.’’
Radhakrishnan stood as Labour’s candidate in Maungakiekie in this year’s general election. She did not win but entered parliament for the first time through the party’s list.
A police spokesperson said officers responded immediately but the offender was not located.