A graphic tale is unfolding in South Auckland tonight with a man saying he saw a woman - bound and gagged - fall from the boot of a moving car onto a residential street. The woman is in a critical condition in Middlemore Hospital after the 7pm incident on Huia Rd near the corner of East Tamaki Rd, Papatoetoe.
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• A kidnapped woman escaped, bound and gagged, from the boot of a moving silver sedan on Huia Rd, near the corner of East Tamaki Rd, Papatoetoe, at about 7pm on Tuesday. • Middlemore Hospital confirmed this morning the woman died from her injuries just after 11pm yesterday. •Police say they are satisfied that the incident they are now calling a kidnapping is not domestic related.
• Jindarat Prutsiriporn was a 50-year-old Thai woman who lived in Auckland. • She is understood to have had links to the criminal underworld.
• The woman's abductor is still at large. • A witness said the driver did not appear to realise the woman had jumped from the boot. • The car sped down Huia Rd and towards Motatau Rd. • Criminologist Professor Newbold said whoever did this must have been desperate because the chance of getting caught is very high.
Police cordon at the corner of Huia Rd and East Tamaki Rd in Papatoetoe. Photo / Jason Oxenham
• With her hands and feet tied and strips of fabric and a man's tie wound tightly around her neck, it appears the woman used a metal rod to jemmy open the boot and make her bid for freedom. • Professor Newbold said the woman would have known her life was in danger. "The fact that she fought to escape from the boot of a moving car tells me that she probably knew where she was going and what was going to happen to her." •It's likely she was not only terrified, but her ordeal before she escaped was also painful.
• The hunt for the car - a silver sedan - and its driver is ongoing. • Police are seeking any sightings of the late model silver vehicle in Papatoetoe and surrounding suburbs on March 1 at about 7pm. • Police are keeping an open mind about the motivation for the kidnapping, however, a line of inquiry will involve links to organised crime. • Police are appealing to members of the public who saw anything they think may be relevant to contact them.
