A 26-year-old woman travelling with an unruly group of tourists has admitted theft charges after appearing in a Hamilton court today.
Tina Maria Cash stole energy drinks, rope and sunglasses from an Auckland service station. She spent the night in custody after being arrested in Hamilton yesterday.
READ MORE
- Holidaymakers from hell came to NZ 'to see Hobbits'
- Unruly tourists: Boy pulls the finger as locals lash out
Cash is part of a group of holidaymakers that have caused trouble in the North Island cities. She has been on a supposed two-week trip of a lifetime tour of New Zealand with her now infamous family.
Police said she stole a can of Red Bull from the Caltex on December 31, and returned to the same service station on January 3 to steal a four-pack of Red Bull, white rope and a pair of sunglasses valued at $50.
Cash was with her children when she committed the second offence. Her lawyer told the court she does not remember the incident, but accepts the theft was caught on CCTV video.
Cash was convicted and ordered to pay $55 in reparation.
Her family members were seen arriving at the court house to hear the proceedings.
Family member John Johnson told The New Zealand Herald yesterday they were all from England, not Ireland, as had been widely reported.
The family also denied not paying for food at restaurants with Johnson instead claiming that his grandfather was the 10th richest man in England.
But police and Immigration officials caught up with the group after a complaint of their behaviour by staff at Burger King Te Rapa in Hamilton.
One staff member said they had been a nuisance earlier in the morning, complaining about food, wanting replacement burgers before returning later in the day and walking through the drive-through.
Shortly afterwards they were stopped by police in the suburb of Harrowfield when officers found that two young children in their car were not in appropriate car seats.
A family member was then taken by police to The Warehouse to buy two seats.
