Video: Hastings phone store owner attacked by customer over 5G connectivity issue

A family has been left feeling “helpless” after a violent in-store attack in their Hastings phone repair shop that was captured on store security cameras.

Police are investigating after FoneMate owner Han Zheng was violently pushed to the ground in the Heretaunga St West store about 1.20pm on Monday.

The video shows Zheng’s wife, Elena Wang, whose baby daughter was also in the back of the store at the time, rushing to her husband’s aid.

Wang said both of them had witnessed the whole incident, which left them feeling “helpless”.

“My daughter is only six months old, and I have a congenital heart condition. It has left me shaken, and my heart still hasn’t settled.”

Zheng said he went to help a sunglasses-wearing customer who was seeking help for his phone, which he said could not connect to the city’s 5G network.

A screenshot from a CCTV camera shows the owner of FoneMate in Hastings falling to the ground after being pushed. Photo / Supplied

Zheng, 38, suggested the issue could be with the network, rather than an issue with the phone.

“I said that might be the Hastings coverage and I showed him my iPhone which also was not [registering] 5G.”

Zheng said the man claimed he’d bought the phone in the store a few months earlier and it also had other issues such as freezing and an inability to get onto Facebook.

The customer then asked for a refund.

Zheng said he asked the man for proof of purchase as their store policy meant they offered a six-month warranty. He said he could take a look at the phone and replace it if necessary.

“He started to get angry ... and then he put his phone in his pocket and pushed me to the floor.”

Zheng said he felt upset over the incident and had sustained a sore back from the fall to the ground, but he would not be closing the store as he needed to support his wife and young child.

“We are only a small business and we don’t want to face that kind of pressure.”

The owner of FoneMate in Hastings said he had never experienced violence. Photo / Michaela Gower

He said he had owned the store for 10 years and had never experienced violence before, just theft.

“Not long ago a man walked in and stole something and I didn’t notice and after five minutes he came back and tried to steal something else.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.