Theft of Memorial nothing short of Cowardly Act

“Enough is enough. People can say or think whatever they like about me but the mindless persecution of my family must stop,” says former Hanover director Mark Hotchin, reacting to news that a memorial to his late father has been taken or destroyed.

The attack occurred a few days after a story in the Sunday Star Times pictured the Lloyd Hotchin memorial that was sited next to the first green on the Dunes golf course at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula. The memorial is now missing.

“My family, particularly the older members, are extremely distressed by this cowardly and spiteful act. They and my late father have done nothing to deserve this kind of cruel treatment,” says Mr Hotchin.

“This is the latest event in a series of cowardly acts against both my immediate relations and the wider family. They’ve had to deal with break-ins, vandalism and harassment from some pretty sick people and yet they were in no way connected to Hanover – except that their name is Hotchin”.

“What kind of people desecrate a memorial to a man who died several years ago and did only good in his local community? My family and I want to thank the kind people who have placed an ad in the local paper appealing for its return.”

Mr Hotchin adds, “I have repeatedly apologised to Hanover investors for the failure of the business and any losses they have sustained because of it. However, intense media scrutiny of my life, much of which contains false or misleading information, has led to a mood in some quarters bordering on hysteria”.

“Thanks to that kind of witch-hunt some people obviously think they have the right to inflict pain on the children and the elderly who comprise our wider family,” said Mr Hotchin.

If the memorial and plaque has not been destroyed Mr Hotchin says to the perpetrators, “Show some decency and put it back.”