Police in Palmerston North have investigated a late-night attack against a gay couple last month which left one of them with serious head injuries, but have no leads. Late on Saturday 3 October a gay male couple in their mid-20s visiting from Auckland were attacked by a small group of men in the centre of the city, leaving them bruised and bleeding. Palmerston's North police Diversity Liaison Officer Robyn Pewhairangi says police in the area have taken the case seriously and "have persued it as much as they can". However, with no camera footage of the incident and few witnesses, there is little chance of a breakthrough in the case. Concern is rising in the city that October's gay-bashing incident is not an isolated case - but it is the only one the police have become aware of, so the authorities in the area are hoping that people come forward with information about any future incidents. "This is the first incident that's been brought to my attention of someone being targeted due to their sexual orientation," says Rewhairangi. "It's important that incidents like this get reported to us so we can respond. We've spoken to the people here at Malgra [Palmerston North's LGBT community network] and believe this case is a one-off." A friend of the attacked couple who shared the story with GayNZ.com agrees. "We need to keep making the police aware when these types of hate crimes occur," she says. "If anything happens to you please speak up."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Monday, 16th November 2009 - 9:08am