A group of four or five holidaymakers from Christchurch were attacked by a mob in Kaikoura early on Friday morning. Some locals are saying that it was a gang that was responsible (possibly the Mongrel Mob) and it is noticeable that some media reports are using the phrase “group of people” which is usually press code for gang.

Kaikoura is a small coastal town about 180km north of Christchurch on the east coast of New Zealand and a favourite setting-off point for whale watching tours.

Reports in the media about the incident varied.

The Marlborough Express‘ report says nothing about the visitors being holidaymakers and that the attack took place outside a pizza restaurant

Five Christchurch men were assaulted in an attack by a group of up to 30 people on Beach Rd in Kaikoura early this morning, police say.

Two of the men were ”severely beaten” and another kidnapped, taken out of town and dumped on the side of the road.

Sergeant Barry Hansen, of Kaikoura, said the victims, aged between 19 and 20, were attacked about 12.30am.

Two of the group were severely beaten while another was kidnapped, driven out of town in a Toyota Hilux, and dumped on the side of the road, he said. The abducted man managed to walk back into town.

A ”sharp weapon” may have been used during the incident, he said…read it in full here

Whereas a NZ Herald report says it was a group of 4 holidaymakers that was attacked and that the victims were set upon as they walked back to their hotel.

The reports of the injuries are pretty shocking and we wish the victims a full and speedy recovery from their ordeal. Was this just another attack on a party of tourists in New Zealand, or is there more to this story than is being released to the media?

We have an unconfirmed report that the men from Christchurch may have been Indian nationals, although that has not been confirmed at all.

Kaikoura is known to have links with the Mongrel Mob. In January of this year Mob members were part of a group of people who tried to flee from fishery officers after been caught trying to poach paua near Kaikoura. About 40 paua, (many of them undersized) were dumped back into the sea by the group when they saw fisheries officers watching. Police helped apprehend them when they tried to get away.

Local people made their feelings known about the attacks, with some saying that the town couldn’t be recommended to tourists any more and with hints that a gang may have been responsible. Kaikoura, it seems, suffers from many of the problems that plague small town New Zealand.

Their comments were published on Stuff, emphasis ours

forest

Kaikoura is a small town surely those responsible can be found and made an example of. There should be zero tolerance to this sort of behavior. Find them and throw away the key harsher penalities have to be imposed otherwise no one is going to pay any attention and it will happen time and time again. This is not the image that New Zealand wants to portray the is a very real danger of allowing a society of yobs that will take over many towns in New Zealand. It is an epidemic that has to be stamped out sooner rather than later.

tom m

it would appear that Kaiakoura has had its fair share of badly bred mogrel dog tuckers for a fair while now . I for one do not recommend the place to any tourists anymore.. If the cops do get this mob what will happen to them,, in short nothing, the government arent interested

chris

i lived in kaikoura and am well known there to.we never did things like that or our friends i just hope it wasnt a local gang.what gets me is that the police have yet to find 1 of the 30 people in the gang.are they crazy.how hard is it in a small town to find just 1.it has a small town reputation to gosip and the word travels fast.i live in oz now and yes its is nicer here but not all people are considerate.im shocked to hear that this has happened in such a beautiful small town.

Alcohol! ITS one of the worst drugs!

Yer i agree! No respect no hopers just drinking and fighting! while the government sells synthetic substances legally in dairies and lock up young good kids keeping outta trouble who just wana chill and not wanting to drink and why is it so normal for drunk to be complete assholes and its normal and excepted part of society! make alcohol illegal, come on and wake up, pathetic attitudes from the one eye nation! If those gang of kids were on the green natural! no anger no fights! logical????? stupid government! stop ya crap – – you sell alcohol and tax it! has anyone ever heard of someone overdosing on the happy backey! nope!!!!!

craig

I was in kaikoura today and this country is so full of uptight angry wee teenages with bad attitudes! Suppose the only thing to do is move to oz where most people are calm, happy and friendly! Let the animals in nz carry on with there minor insignificant angry lives. Harsh but the truth isn’t pretty.

Update13 November 2010

We have received word that the people who had been attacked were a group of young students up from Christchurch on a fishing trip, still no real news on the mens’ backgrounds, or where the link with India came from – if indeed there is one.

We’ve also been told that some of the perpetrators have already appeared in court. This has yet to be reported on by the media, whether they were gang members, ‘wannabes’ or unconnected with organised gangs remains unknown.

Fotunately another report appeared in The Press yesterday, written by David Williams and Blair Ensor, in which a “stitched and bandaged Christchurch man” recounted a ‘‘thuggish’’ bashing by a mob in Kaikoura and the abduction of a friend.”

Their report stated

“Builder and barman Ben Murgatroyd, 20, said the ‘‘frightening’’ beating left him with a suspected broken cheekbone, bruises to his head and an eye almost closed over.

‘‘I tried to run across the road and run around the group, but one guy caught me,’’ he said. ‘‘I went unconscious and woke up 30 or 40 metres down the road, covered in blood, being kicked by six or seven people.’’

One of Murgatroyd’s friends was bundled into the back of a Hilux, ‘‘kicked around’’ and had to walk back to Kaikoura after being dumped at a dairy factory out of town.

‘‘Seeing him was a huge relief,’’ Murgatroyd said.

The report revealed that the group was comprised of eight friends from Christchurch – all aged 19 and 20 who had booked a Kaikoura fishing charter as a birthday celebration.

It seems that the attack may have been started after “harsh words” were exchanged with an “aggressive” driver whose friends then rallied round for a fight.

Murgatroyd went on to say

‘‘It was just a thuggish, small-town mentality. They jumped us and started yelling out things like ‘Get the f… out of our town’ and ‘ Don’t f… with the locals’.

He and his friends were yesterday relieved to be leaving the town, almost 200 kilometres north of Christchurch, after a day of giving police statements and receiving medical treatment.

‘‘It’s definitely put me off [going back to Kaikoura],’’ he said.’’

Update 15 November 2010

Five men were later charged please read Five Arrested In Kaikoura Mob Attack