Hamilton dairy worker’s finger and thumb reattached after machete attack

By RNZ

A Hamilton dairy worker who lost a finger and a thumb during a violent robbery has undergone eight hours of surgery.

The worker at Irvine St Dairy was attacked by four men, one of whom was wielding a machete, as the robbers stole cigarettes and tobacco yesterday morning.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kristine Clarke told media that Hamilton police were asking for witnesses to come forward.

Police were called about 7.30am and on arrival found a man with a serious injury to his hand, she said.

“We understand this is a distressing incident that will cause a great deal of concern to the community,” she said.

“We’d like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or events immediately after.”

Police were following “positive” lines of inquiry and want to hear from anyone nearby who has CCTV.

“People know who these people are. It’s up to them to stand up ... and show they are not prepared to tolerate this type of offending.”

She said the attack involved “gratuitous violence.”

“It’s really, really disturbing,” Clarke said.

It appears no arrests have been made and the four offenders are still at large.

“We’re still at a relatively early stage of the investigation,” she said.

“We are absolutely determined that these offenders will be held to account for this horrific offending.”

The victim lost a finger and a thumb, she confirmed.

“He was in bed for many many hours yesterday. We are leaving him to start that recovery process before we start ... pressing him for information.”

Police have spoken to the surgeon but not yet the victim.

She categorically rejected claims police took 30 minutes to arrive. They were at the scene within eight minutes, Clarke said.

“They have done everything that they could reasonably do. And it’s a really sad indictment that at this point in time it’s not enough to stop this kind of offending.”

She said the offenders had shown “quite clearly ... they are prepared to use extreme levels of violence”.

Asked about what more police could be doing to prevent ram raids and aggravated robberies, Clarke said police were constantly reviewing their processes.

”We’re doing everything we possibly can at the moment to prevent this.”

She would not comment on legislative changes that may be required.

The dairy’s owner, Puneet Singh, said it could have been much worse.

“He was begging to them ‘don’t kill me, don’t kill me’. He was saying that again and again, and he was saying the robbers were trying to kill him.

“The robber targeted my worker’s head. He just brought his hand in between and that caused the cut to his fingers,” Singh said.

The robbery happened at Irvine St Dairy on Saturday morning. Photo / Google

Singh said his worker’s fingers have been reattached, but it was unclear whether full function will return.

The man also suffered defensive injuries to his other hand, though they were not as severe.

The man was also deeply traumatised, Singh said.

“He’s still in trauma,” he said.

“They attached his fingers back but they are not sure at the moment how they will perform. The surgery took around eight hours to put the fingers back and he is still very scared. He is still thinking about what has happened.”

Both Singh and the worker just wanted the men responsible caught.

Detective senior sergeant Kristine Clarke said Hamilton Police wanted witnesses to come forward.

“Police were called to the scene about 7.30am, and on arrival discovered a man outside the premises with a serious injury to his hand. First aid was immediately administered, and he was transported to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition,” Clarke said.

“We understand this is a distressing incident that will cause a great deal of concern to the wider community.

“Police are committed to finding those responsible and holding them accountable, and we are following several lines of inquiry. We would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident or events immediately after, or who has information about those involved.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who has private CCTV in the immediate area or surrounding streets, which may have captured footage of use to the investigation.”

CCTV has captured a violent armed robbery at a dairy in Hamilton. Video / Puneet Singh

Singh said the Government needed to do more to keep retailers safe.

“There should be harsher penalties. If they don’t have any consequences when they are caught ... they are going to come back and do it again,” he said.

“Until we put them under pressure and give them harsher penalties this is going to keep repeating. The government needs to change the law and give more power to police, so they know there are consequences.”

Yesterday, Singh estimated the men stole between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of tobacco products.

- RNZ