Trapped tourists fight off knifeman

Three young female tourists were lured by a man using a fake Facebook profile, trapped in a padlocked flat and menaced with a knife strapped to the end of a metal pole.

But the women were able to turn the tables on Taumarunui man Sherb Junior Tamati, 32, though in the midst of the melee one of the women jumped from a second-storey window.

Tamati was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court yesterday on charges of kidnapping and assault with intent to rob.

He had set up the profile under the guise of being a manager of a Taumarunui cafe, offering the three women - all aged in their early 20s - employment and accommodation late in 2016.

They had been travelling New Zealand for several months, picking up casual work where they could. It was on November 27 last year when Tamati invited the three into his upstairs flat.

After showing the three around the flat, he ushered them into the lounge, where he pulled out the hidden knife on the pole and demanded they give him all their money.

One of the women immediately leapt on his back while a companion grabbed the pole and knife. A struggle ensued. One terrified woman fled from the room, only to find the flat’s front door had been padlocked.

She ran to the kitchen and climbed out a window, jumping from the second floor.

Meanwhile, the other two women were violently trying to overcome their attacker. They eventually managed to wrest the knife from him. Tamati ran into the kitchen while the two remaining women ran to the front door, which was still padlocked. They managed to climb out another window and escape along a rooftop.

Tamati also climbed out the kitchen window and fled the scene. It wasn’t long before he was found and arrested.

Crown prosecutor Shelley Gilbert sought a minimum nonparole period of half of Tamati’s sentence, which was granted by Judge Simon Menzies.

‘‘This was a well-thought-out plan ... he deliberately targeted tourists,’’ Gilbert said.

Judge Menzies said he had no doubt the incident would have terrified the three tourists.