A hospital employee locked herself in her car and started
beeping her horn after being attacked by three men as she
left Waikato Hospital shortly after midnight.
Detective William Loughrin said the men approached the
49-year-old as she walked to her car in a car park adjacent
to Waikato Hospital's helipad.
Mr Loughrin said one of the trio accosted the woman and
demanded she give him her handbag.
She refused, but then dropped her bag as a distraction so she
could get to her car.
Mr Loughrin said the other two men were egging on their
friend but fled when she started beeping the horn. The other
man continued to threaten the woman as she started her car.
"Obviously this is a stressful experience for our victim who
it would be fair to say, was terrified by her ordeal," he
said.
"We would ask that anyone who witnessed this event take place
or who may have information on the identities of the attacker
to come forward. But more importantly, we're asking that the
two males initially involved in the incident to come forward
and make contact with police."
Waikato District Health Board chief executive Craig Climo
expressed his concern about the attack.
"We have systems in place to ensure staff working shift work
have an expectation of safety. My thanks go to the police and
to our security staff for their quick response and I would
ask anyone with any information to make it available to
investigators."
Anyone with information can contact Mr Loughrin at the
Hamilton Central Police Station on 07 834 9413 or 027 704
8589, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.