By Jack Horsnell of 1news.co.nz and is republished with permission
A young Auckland family have been left devastated after their house was robbed three times over the weekend.
Johnny Singh, his wife and their newborn have been living away from their Onehunga home for the past few weeks while they do renovations.
On Saturday morning, a plumber working on the home arrived at the property, texting Singh to thank him for leaving the doors unlocked.
Having locked the doors the last time he was there, Singh was confused and went to check on the house. Upon arrival, he found the home had been “cleared out”.
“I saw the air conditioner was gone, and my jaw just dropped,” he told 1News.
Walking around the house, Singh said “every corner” had been scoured, with $80,000 worth of property stolen.
He said a TV, a vacuum cleaner still in its box and personal tools were missing – including some his father left him after he died.
“It’s just heartbreaking – soul destroying, really.”
The next day he was given CCTV footage captured by a neighbour, showing a car pulling up to the property around 3am, making multiple trips to and from, until around 5.25am.
The family spent Saturday trying to get over the brazen robbery, but by Sunday morning, their situation got worse.
“My wife heard a noise coming from the house, and I thought ‘surely not again’, so I went back over.”
Upon arrival, Singh found his garage broken into, property missing, and a Mercedes parked out front with a group of men wearing black inside it.
“I asked them what they were doing there, and they just said, ‘we’re looking for a friend’, but they were all wearing black jackets and beanies – hiding behind their tinted windows.”
As they drove away, Singh followed them on foot, calling the police to report the burglary.
He went home and rested, still in shock that he was robbed twice – which was when he heard another noise coming from the house 40 minutes later.
“I thought, ‘this can’t be happening’.
“They can’t be stupid enough to hit the same property three times, and if they’re not stupid, they must be cocky.”
Once again, he returned to the house – taking his keys to pursue the offenders if needed.
When he got there, a man and a woman were inside the garage – clearing out what was left into a truck parked outside.
“Why don’t you help yourself to anything in my house,” Singh told them.
Singh, who’d had enough, took matters into his own hands, chasing the robbers through the streets of Onehunga in his car – all while talking to police, giving them updates.
The man driving the truck eventually pulled over, swinging a hammer at the new father, forcing Singh to back up.
“I chased them along the motorway towards Mangere when I lost sight and decided to end the chase because it was too dangerous.”
He believes his home was targeted by the criminals.
“These burglars obviously have targeted a place like mine and have cleaned out my house completely.”
To him, crime like this has made Onehunga feel unsafe – and he said it’s an underlying feeling amongst the community.
“I’ve contacted the police, and they have done their general follow-up and taken a statement, but I feel that the crime rate in Onehunga has gotten out of control, and less is being done about it.
“I don’t know what the answer is. What extent do we need to go to so that our families feel safe in this community?
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t take away from me and my family feeling so disgusted by these criminals. They have made us and our community in Onehunga feel vulnerable and violated.
“We don’t even feel safe in our own homes anymore.”
He called the police’s response to the robberies “shocking”, saying they took too long to respond.
“They sent the forensics unit to take fingerprints and footprints, as well as a statement – but other than that, I’ve heard nothing.
“I haven’t received a single follow-up call or any updates as to where my property is.
“I shouldn’t have to go to this extent to defend my property; this is what the police are meant to be doing for me, for our community.
“The more I talk about it, the more frustrated I get – they’re just working too slow.”
In a statement to 1News, police said a tactical crime unit is investigating the burglaries.
“In both instances, our Scene of Crime Officers attended the address to explore for any forensic opportunities to assist our investigation,” Inspector Rachel Dolheguy said.
“I ask anyone with any new information that may further assist us in apprehending those responsible to contact police so this can be assessed.”
She said police understand how damaging these kinds of crimes can be to the victims and said police work as fast as they can to solve burglaries.
“Police understand how invasive burglaries can be on their victims, let alone being victimised in short succession. In some instances, our staff make arrests while an incident is unfolding. In other cases, our staff work diligently with all lines of enquiry available to hold offenders to account.
“There are certain processes and evidential sufficiency that is required when investigating burglaries, such as obtaining search warrants. Police do our best to ensure this is worked through in a timely manner.”
She encouraged people to make sure their properties are properly locked up, as opportunistic offenders are always on the lookout.
“Unfortunately, experience shows us that construction or renovation sites are targeted by opportunistic offenders because they are often unattended and may contain unsecured items that are easily targeted.
It comes as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon both spoke to media today and were asked about the concerning levels of crime being reported in New Zealand.
“In other areas, though, retail crime in particular, there is no question that we have seen an escalation in retail crime over the last few years that has been utterly unacceptable,” Hipkins said.
He said the Government had “more work to do to turn down the level of violent crime retail businesses are experiencing”.
He said “police are doing an amazing job on behalf of New Zealanders each and every day”.
Luxon said the National Party “will back our police, tackle gangs – banning gang patches in public places, giving police powers to stop them consorting and giving police warrantless search powers to crack down on the illegal guns driving so much of the violent crime in New Zealand.”
He said serious young offenders should have serious consequences for repeated ram-raids and aggravated theft.
