Kiwi attacked in Rarotonga describes horror ordeal

A New Zealander holidaying in the Cook Islands has described the horror attack that left her with a jaw broken in two places.

She also suffered a black eye and severe bruising up and down her arms - which she used to shield the blows to her head from up to four attackers.

Paige Fraser, of Kapiti Coast, told the Herald she had been enjoying her last night in Rarotonga, on June 6, when she says she was randomly targeted by two men and two women at the popular Rehab nightclub in Avarua.

It was about 11.45pm and she was waiting for some friends she had met on a party bus that night so they could leave together.

"[The friends] were taking a while and so I went to walk over towards them. As I was walking through the bar, there were four people - two were females, two were male.

"A female said to me: 'Keep walking'. I stopped and said: 'What? What do you mean keep walking?'

"She said: 'Straight up, keep f***ing walking'. I literally flipped her a blank look. I said: 'I'm literally walking, what do you mean?'"

The woman then allegedly splashed her drink at Fraser, before she and three others rushed towards her and immediately began punching and kneeing her about the head.

Fraser stayed standing, bending down to cover her face and head as much as she could because she felt the beating would be worse for her if she fell to the ground.

"I kept thinking: 'Don't get knocked out, do not get knocked out'. I thought it would stop, but it just got worse.

"They tried to gouge my eyeballs out. Their fingers were so deep in my eye, I actually had to pick their fingers out.

"That's when I started thinking: 'Oh wow, you really need to get out of this'. They had such a good grip on my dreadlocks that I couldn't get away."

Asked what she thought may have provoked them, Fraser said they may have been involved in an earlier altercation outside and she had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After the attack, a friend ran outside where police officers had attended the earlier fight.

A uniformed female officer spoke to Fraser and her friends and when told about the incident, allegedly told the group she did not understand them.

Fraser was due to be on a flight back to New Zealand at 2.30am and decided to get a ride back to her hotel, pack and head to the airport.

"I didn't want to stay there so I didn't even tell the people there what had happened because I didn't want to be stuck there. I just wanted to go home.

"I didn't realise my jaw was broken, either, until we got here."

As a result, a formal complaint was not made to local authorities.

However, Cook Islands Police are now investigating the incident after members of the Fraser family posted photos of their relative's injuries on social media, calling for those responsible to come forward.

Authorities there have also acknowledged claims made by members of the public that at least one of the attackers was an off-duty police officer.

A statement released by the Cook Islands Police Service said: "Police staff were aware of scuffles, which were largely managed by the security staff on duty that night.

"Claims made against police in terms of assaulting anyone have still not been substantiated. The investigation is including interviews of witnesses.''

A NZ Police spokeswoman also confirmed to the Herald that they too are aware of the situation, after Fraser laid an official complaint here on her arrival.

She said she hoped those involved would admit to what they did and hand themselves in to police.