Robbed woman makes 'citizen's arrest'

A 57-year-old woman made a citizen's arrest after thieves stole $500 from her bank account when she accidentally left her card in an ATM machine.

The victim said today she tried to hold onto a woman who was accompanying a youth and an older woman when cash was stolen from her her account at a Palmerston North ATM.

When the woman proved too strong, the victim grabbed hold of an older woman and held on until the arrival of police.

The victim, who did not want to be named, left her card in the ATM machine after checking her account balance.

She had walked over to the bus station when another young man came to tell her that her money had been stolen.

Paul Meendering, 20, said he was standing behind a trio waiting to use the ATM machine, when he saw the young man take money out of the account.

"I had just lined up and saw the lady walking away when the people in front of me noticed she had left her card in the machine.

"The boy asked what he should do and his mother told him to take the money out of the account, and then she told him to run away with the money.

"I chased after the woman and asked her if she had left her card in the ATM. She was in quite a bit of shock and we both ran back to the machine. Then a fight broke out."

The youth who was believed to have stolen the money had gone when they returned.

The cardholder, who is on an invalid's benefit, said she grabbed a woman's shoulder and was dragged along the street.

"I thought I would hang on to her until police came; no one else was helping me.

"She was as strong as an ox and she dragged me along the street and around the corner. We were both yelling and screaming, then the heifer threw me to the ground.

"I was going to go after her but I thought about my high blood pressure, so I decided to collar the old lady. I was holding on to her shoulder when the police came.

"But the police were telling me that I could be charged with assault and that there was no such thing as a citizen's arrest.

"It's pretty awful if you can't contain people that have stolen your money. That's all I was trying to do."

Detective Sergeant Tim Moffatt said yesterday there was no chance of the woman being charged with assault.

"If someone has committed an offence there are some aspects of a citizen's arrest that members of the public can carry out. However, police don't generally say that it's a good idea.

"Members of the public may not be trained, and don't have back-up. Generally speaking, it's not the best thing to do."

The victim, who suffered a sprained knee, is thankful to Mr Meendering for his help.

"He is a wonderfully public-spirited young man. I wouldn't have known if not for him. He was the only one who helped me."

It is not the first time Mr Meendering has helped deliver people in to the arms of the law.

"I have had people arrested about six times. Once I rang the cops when I saw a guy punching a woman in the face; another time I rang them after I saw a guy drinking inside a car in a car yard and was wrecking the interior."

Police said a woman had been charged with being a party to theft and the youth who fled with the cash was still being sought.

- NZPA