A 22-year-old Indian student left with broken teeth after being assaulted by a group of men in Auckland, NZ, said the police did not act promptly to help him.
Jaskaran Singh Chaddha - a student of Business Studies - moved to New Zealand in September last year. He was set upon by five men when he was on lunch break at Mangere Town Centre where he was working for an accounting firm.
"This attack was brazen and came as a total shock to me. I was just returning from my lunch, and these men suddenly started beating me for no reason,” Mr Chadha told The Indian Weekender.
“The men punched me with metal knuckles breaking my teeth and badly injuring my jaws and gum,” he said.
Mr Chaddha said he had to run inside a nearby liquor store and hide behind the counter to save his life. But his attackers gave him a chase even inside the business and only relented after the store owner and a security guard intervened.
An ambulance arrived at the scene and took Mr Chaddha to a hospital after giving him first aid. He suffered injuries to his head, shoulders and face, besides broken teeth and was released from the hospital after treatment.
Mr Chaddha said despite making a frantic call to the cops, the police did not turn up to attend the incident. However, the police said there was a delay in reporting the incident and the alleged offenders had already left the scene. So, the situation was assessed as non-life threatening and thus did not require an immediate visit.
“There was a 25-minute lapse from the time the assault took place to when Police was notified. The informant had advised Police that the offenders had left the scene and there was no immediate risk or present danger to the victim.
“Priority is always given to incidents involving offending of a more serious nature and situations where there is an immediate threat to a person's safety,” a police spokesperson told the Indian Weekender.
However, Mr Chaddha said his belief in New Zealand being a safe education destination for international students has been shattered.
“I am very much disappointed in the way police responded to my crisis. I was at the scene of the incident for an hour, hurt and bleeding but the police did not come to assess the situation. What if I had not run and would have been knocked unconscious while being beaten up?”
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