Thieves stoop to new low
A Whanga¯rei teenager and her family are pondering how low some people will stoop after their car was broken into while 13-year-old Aorangi Hetaraka was receiving treatment at Bay of Islands Hospital.
The thieves took property including Aorangi’s Acer computer tablet.
Maia Hetaraka said her daughter suffered an anaphylactic reaction at her grandfather’s birthday celebration in Russell on Saturday night. With her throat swelling, threatening to prevent her from breathing, she was given an Epipen injection then driven by her father to the hospital.
With the last ferry having sailed, they had to go the long way, arriving at 2.30am. When Aorangi was discharged six hours later they found that their car had been broken into.
Mrs Hetaraka said she was shocked that someone would target a hospital, particularly in a low-income community where people didn’t have much.
The thieves had removed the key barrel from one of the doors, suggesting they had been driving around with tools looking for cars to break into.
Mrs Hetaraka appealed for the return of the property, including the tablet, in a mint-green fabric case, a dark blue Nike sports bag and a small, light blue Frozen suitcase, and for anyone with any information to call the Kawakawa police on (09) 404-3150, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555-111.
The tablet was passwordprotected so was useless to anyone else, she added, while two bags that were left beside the car, containing clothing, broken electronic items and a medicine box with an Auckland name and address, had been handed to the police.