Witnesses Sought for Robbery

Police are appealing for witnesses to a robbery that took place at the parade of shops on Great South Road Manurewa at the junction with Kerrs Road (next to Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre) this morning which resulted in a 66 year old Chinese lady being knocked unconscious.

At 11:20 hrs the victim of the handbag theft (34 year old Chinese lady) had finished her shopping with her mother at the parade of shops and returned to her car. She put her handbag down on the front passenger seat. A large male Maori or Pacific Islander wearing black gloves and a long dark jacket reached in through the front passenger door and took the handbag.

The victim reached across and grabbed hold of her bag and a brief struggle ensued. The strap broke and the offender made off.  At this time the victim's elderly mother returned to the car and tried to stop the offender leaving with her daughters hand bag. The offender pushed the elderly mother to the ground. She banged her head and was briefly knocked out. She was taken to Middlemore hospital and is in a stable condition.

The offender then got into a stolen SILVER Mazda MPV DGQ299 nearby (since recovered) and drove from the scene.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to urgently contact the Counties Manukau Police.