Over a month after two gay brothers told Taupo media and police they were victims of a brutal ‘mob' attack in the area, Taupo police say they have concluded their investigation and have made no arrests. Matt and Simon Adlam say a large group attacked them on Wednesday 27th December near Finn MacCuhals pub on Tuwharetoa St. They had faced taunts about being gay while drinking at the bar. The brothers, now home in Los Angeles, say they are “not really surprised about this outcome. This whole assault has been a bit of a debacle. “Why the diminution of the attack by the police, and apparent ignorance of the bar and its staff? One can only explain this as damage control,” Matt Adlam told the Taupo Times. “This is very easy to do when the victims live overseas. New Zealand is obviously not a safe place to be gay or possibly any other minority for that matter.” Simon Adlam suffered two broken ribs, cuts and grazes, partial memory loss, tachycardia, confusion and dizzy spells as a result of the attack, says Mr Adlam. Taupo Police Detective Sergeant Tony Manunui says police have concluded their investigations into the attacks and have been unable to identify anyone involved. Shannon Gillies writes in the Times today: “This is the second serious assault to happen on Tuwharetoa Street within the past six months that has, so far, gone unsolved. “Former TV3 sports presenter Clint Brown had been attacked in front of a group of locals, yet no one had offered the name of the assailant to the police despite many locals' claims that they knew who had hit the former presenter". Ref: Taupo Times, GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 1st February 2007 - 12:00pm