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*Is The ROAST BUSTERS an online ‘rape club’?
*Massive Haka in New Zealand for fallen soldiers
*NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS!
*Sea Monster found on New Zealand beach
*The New Zealand Giant Weta, world’s largest insect
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My wife and I lived, studied and worked in New Zealand for six years. We remember the country, its people and our friends with a fondness that has not faded.
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Two killed in Wellington tunnel crash
Two people have died in a serious crash that closed Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel to traffic. http://nzh.nu/OT0qG
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Two people have died in a serious crash that has closed Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel to traffic in both directions.
State Highway 1 has been closed, with no access northbound into the Terrace Tunnel, police said.
The will be diversions in place for southbound motorists taking the Terrace offramp.
Drivers are advised to avoid the area and take alternate routes.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11472454&ref=NZH_Tw
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Two die in motorcycle crash by Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel http://dlvr.it/BLl3KP
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CHLOE WINTER
Last updated 13:56, June 28 201
Two people are dead following a serious motorbike crash in central Wellington.
Emergency services were called to the scene on State Highway One near the Terrace Tunnel at about 12.45pm.
Police confirmed two people had died.
A section of the motorway was closed, with no access northbound into the Terrace Tunnel. A diversion was in place for southbound traffic taking The Terrace off-ramp.
Motorists are being asked to avoid the area and take alternate routes.
A witness said the accident happened just as he arrived.
“People were running everywhere. Several were on phones calling for help. Two people were comforting a man on the ground.
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Two people have died in a serious crash that closed Wellington‘s Terrace Tunnel to traffic. http://nzh.nu/OT0qG
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Elephant fish impales fisherman with 7cm spike
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Doctors extract elephant fish’s 7cm spike
Elephant fish impales fisherman with 7cm spike http://dlvr.it/95tQMW
Upper Hutt man Byron Carter is thanking his lucky stars after the elephant fish he was trying to catch turned the tables.
The stevedore says he “won” the bloody tussle that landed him in hospital with a 7cm dorsal spike embedded in his abdomen.
How exactly a man gets an three-foot long elephant fish stuck to him mystified rescuers on Monday.
Carter and his mate had set out with a plan to catch the funny-looking fish — “because I’d never caught one before”.
An experienced recreational fisherman, Carter had been wary of a spiny dogfish caught on their long-line.
But it was another member of the shark and ray family – an elephant fish – that fought back.
“A bigger one came in and the line was pulling tight. I knew about the spike — I’d never caught one before — but I knew about this spike they had,” Carter recalled.
“So I sort of grabbed him underneath to bring over the rail and he just sort of flicked at the wrong moment and I didn’t even feel it.”
“All of a sudden it was just attached to me and it wasn’t coming out.”
Read the rest of the article, and watch a video, here:
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Men armed with machetes have threaten police and churchgoers in Auckland http://stuff.co.nz/national/63238559/Frenzied-machete-attack-at-church …
MACHETE ATTACK: St Enochs Presbyterian Church in Mt Roskill
A disorder incident rapidly escalated today at an Auckland church when a group of men threatened to kill police and began a frenzied machete attack to get inside.
Police had been called just after midday to St Enochs Presbyterian Church in Mount Roskill after two people were injured. Police said those responsible had left by the time they arrived.
While attending to those injured, a group of men returned and threatened to kill police, ambulance staff and those at the church gathering, Superintendent Richard Chambers said.
One of the men had a machete but the sergeant at the church was unarmed. He barricaded the church door while the men conducted what police are calling “a frenzied attack” with a machete on the door and windows trying to get inside.
“He [the sergeant] attempted to reason with the men through the window, in an effort to calm them down, however this was unsuccessful,” said Chambers.
On hearing more police sirens, the men took off but were caught soon after.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/63238559/Frenzied-machete-attack-at-church
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RT @STForeignDesk: New #Zealand parliament, newspaper sent bottle labelled #Ebola http://bit.ly/1zgA4QX
New Zealand’s parliament mailroom was in lockdown Tuesday after it was sent a bottle claiming to contain a sample of the Ebola virus just hours after a newsroom in Auckland received a similar package, police said. — PHOTO: AFP
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand’s parliament mailroom was in lockdown Tuesday after it was sent a bottle claiming to contain a sample of the Ebola virus just hours after a newsroom in Auckland received a similar package, police said.
Police were called to parliament in Wellington after the mailroom discovered a package containing a plastic bottle and documents that claimed that the liquid in the vial was a sample of the deadly Ebola virus.
The package was secured by police with the help of the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team after it was found, police said in a statement, adding that the bottle was sent for forensic testing.
The mailroom was in lockdown during the operation, the New Zealand Herald reported, citing police.
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#BREAKING Vial sent to Australia for testing for Ebola was originally sent to the @nzherald mailroom. All precautions were taken. More soon.
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Nearly 12,000 Indian students study in Auckland and they are the second largest group of foreign students in New Zealand. Many are young men who, until they came here, had lived with their parents.
Indian women harassed on streets http://dlvr.it/7SBnhB
Indian women harassed on streets
Indian women in Auckland are facing a wave of “eve teasing” or sexual harassment from their own countrymen here as students.
Women have told Fairfax Media of being stopped in the streets by aggressive Indian men and also say the aggressive flirting take place on social media sites as well.
A masters student here for five years said she initially took pity on the young men saying they were struggling to get good home-cooked Indian food in New Zealand.
She would help them, but no longer.”Now, looking at the mentality of some students I am scared to even talk to these new students,” she said.
Another woman says she was walking to a Diwali event wearing a sari when she was approached by an Indian male in a car.
“Horrendous eve teasing seems to be happening in Auckland now,” she says.
He harassed her on the street for 20 minutes and at one point claimed the teasing was “in our culture”.
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nzherald Business NZ’s Airport security has been beefed up after the terror threat level was raised http://ow.ly/DWSct
An aviation security dog handler and her dog, Fern check the departure area of Auckland International Airport. File / Photo
Aviation Security staff are on heightened alert following the raised terror threat level and on the lookout for a range of new risks including cyber attacks on aircraft and on its own screening equipment.
Airport security staff throughout the country were ready to roll out contingency measures, including beefed up screening at regional airports and checks for liquids and gels on domestic flights.
Earlier this week Prime Minister John Key’s announced that the country’s threat level had risen from “very low” to “low” and said there were around 80 people from New Zealand with possible links to the Islamic State terror army in the Middle East. Pilots have called for security screening at all airports for all passenger planes, not just those with more than 90 seats.
Aviation Security’s general manager Mark Wheeler said it would be the government’s call to step up regional airport and aircraft screening.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11354897&ref=nzhbiz_tw
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HE WAS SO FOCUSSED ON TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE STEAM TRAIN AS IT CAME ROUND THE BEND THAT HE FORGOT TO MOVE OFF THE TRACK!
The heritage train was on its way from Christchurch to Greymouth (Photo: Mainline Steam)
(http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/man-named-after-train-death-2013090909)
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Man killed while photographing train
SARAH-JANE O’CONNOR
TRAGIC SCENE: Gregory Duncraft, 51, of Greymouth, died after being hit by a steam train in September 2013.
A Greymouth man had lost his wife of 26 years not long before he was hit and killed by a steam train, an inquest has heard.
Gregory John Duncraft, 51, was with a group of train enthusiasts on September 7 last year to take photos of a steam train.
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He and his new girlfriend were near Kokiri, inland from Greymouth, taking photos of the train when he was hit.
A coroner’s inquest was held today at Greymouth District Court.
Duncraft suffered major head trauma from the accident. He was flown to Greymouth Hospital but died shortly after.
Alfred Wilson was driving the train at the time. He was accompanied by Norman Leonard as the train engineer. Both have decades of experience driving trains for KiwiRail.
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”By the time I realised he wasn’t going to move it was too late,” Leonard said. He saw body thrown to the left of the train and told Wilson to put the brakes on.
”When I first saw him he was on the middle of the line,” Leonard said. ”You see him there and you think ‘he’s going to take his photo and get off”’.
He told the coroner he had seen people ”leave it very late” before moving.
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stuff.co.nz
40 Kiwis watched for extremism, PM says
TRACY WATKINS, HAMISH RUTHERFORD AND AIMEE GULLIVER
Last updated 12:43 05/11/2014
Up to 40 people are being monitored by government agencies as possible foreign fighters because of their engagement in ”extremist” behaviour, Prime Minister John Key says.
In a groundbreaking speech today Key has laid out what he says are the threats to New Zealand’s national security.
”Government agencies have a watch list of between 30 and 40 people of concern in the foreign fighter context. These are people in, or from New Zealand who are in various ways participating in extremist behaviour,” Key said.
Some of the list had travelled to Syria to fight beside Islamic State – IS, also known as Isil and Isis, Key said.
”Others are Isil supporters who have tried to travel but been prevented by the cancellation of their passports.”
The remainder of the list, Key said, were ”involved in funding terrorism, radicalising others or are becoming radicalised themselves. Another 30 to 40 individuals require further investigation in addition to the watch list group”.
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Newstalk Driving with walking stick: ‘Dangerous to a new level’ – New Zealand… http://goo.gl/fb/CivJqF | http://nz.beduac.de #news
A man who can’t use his legs has been charged with dangerous driving after being caught using a shortened walking stick to operate his car.
Police said the Manurewa man “took dangerous driving to a new level”.
The man’s licence allowed him to operate only a vehicle with hand-held controls, because he had no use of his legs.
“He was found to be in a regular vehicle, without hand controls, but using a shortened walking stick to operate the brake and accelerator,” Sergeant Mark Fleming of Counties Manukau police said.
“Needless to say this was a very surprising thing to come across and we are shocked at his blatant disregard for his own safety and the safety of other road users.”
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A 32-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving and will appear in Manukau District Court.
– APNZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11346496
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NEW ZEALAND HAS BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.
SOMEHOW, WE MISSED THIS…
Sea Stack Beach, New Zealand pic.twitter.com/TxTez5xlde
AND WHILE WE SAW MOUNT COOK, IT NOT AT NIGHT, SO WE MISSED SUCH BEAUTY!
RT @EverydayWow: Moonlit Mount Cook, New Zealand pic.twitter.com/M6fBYejYNW
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QUEENSTOWN? MAGICAL.
Blue Pools ~ Queenstown, New Zealand pic.twitter.com/BKHdTUIJSO
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Today’s Daily Escape is from Queenstown, New Zealand. http://bit.ly/1uCchcy pic.twitter.com/yNNg5w7dTL
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HOW COULD WE FORGET LAKE WANAKA?
Dany 
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Woke up to the most beautiful scenery! Mother Nature in New Zealand you seise to amaze me! #NZBeauty #MtCook pic.twitter.com/fq9SgMsjh3
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New Zealand, Cathedral Cove Beach Sunrise! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/QWJ9bWakoQ
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NELSON IN SUMMER WAS WONDERFUL!
Nelson, New Zealand pic.twitter.com/6KXUeKYRJp
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Southern lights & the Milky Way over Papanui Inlet, Otago, New Zealand http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=101661 … #aurora #MilkyWay pic.twitter.com/nlNPlAfG03
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WE SPENT 3 WONDERFUL SUMMER MONTHS IN ASHBURTON, AND LEARNING OF THE TRAGEDY THERE IS HEARTBREAKING.
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Ashburton shooting victims named – Yahoo New Zealand https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/24870803/ashburton-shooting-victims-named/ …
The victims of a fatal shooting at Work and Income’s Ashburton office have been named.
Peg Noble and Leigh Cleveland were killed and Lindy Curtis was wounded after a man entered the office on Monday morning and fired a sawn-off shotgun.
Russell John Tully, known as John, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Tuesday morning, charged with two counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
The 48-year-old homeless man’s lawyer Trudi Aickin did not seek bail.
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Homeless man ‘who struggled with benefits shoots dead two welfare workers’ http://ind.pn/1tocdzc pic.twitter.com/d1pfCifQA6
The Independent …
The New Zealand Herald
Ashburton Work and Income shooting: Suspect arrested
By Sophie Ryan, Patrice Dougan, Nicholas Jones, Kurt Bayer, Isaac Davison, Teuila Fuatai
Homeless man Russell Tully, known as John, 48, was found on a rural property near Lake Hood this afternoon. No shots were fired but he suffered dog bites.
Ashburton had been in lockdown while police conducted a massive search for Tully.
The alarm was sounded when a man wearing camouflaged clothing and a balaclava entered Work and Income office about 10am armed with a sawn-off shotgun.
The man shot three Work and Income workers, killing two and seriously injuring the third, who was flown to Christchurch Hospital and is in a critical condition.
He fled the scene on a bicycle he had chained up outside the office.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11317243
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A bunch of flowers outside the closed Work and Income office in Riccarton pic.twitter.com/nlE09OSKuS
The arrest followed a seven-hour manhunt on a day that began like any other in Ashburton.
nzherald Our interview with the farmer who found the gunman suspected of killing two Winz workers: http://nzh.tw/11317524 pic.twitter.com/Is7ZntU0b0
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WINZ killings: Anatomy of a tragedy that left two innocents dead
By Sophie Ryan, Patrice Dougan, Kurt Bayer, Teuila Fuatai, Simon Collins, Anna Leask, Adam Bennett
Farmer Dan White knew a gunman was on the loose when he went to move a mob of sheep.
The father of three admits “looking over my shoulder” all day.
As he drove across a paddock, he saw a man 20 metres away.
Immediately, he knew it was the gunman being hunted by police for shooting dead two Work and Income workers in nearby Ashburton and seriously injuring another.
“He was out in the open, out in the middle of the paddock,” a shaken 33-year-old Mr White said.
The fugitive, Russell John Tully, simply looked like a man “who had been hunting”, Mr White said.
“I knew who he was straight away. I carried on driving in my ute, away from him, called the police, told them where he was.”
Armed officers and police dog teams swooped on the crop and sheep farm near the Ashburton River mouth and upmarket development of Lake Hood.
Tully put up “minor resistance” before dogs latched on to him.
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Small New Zealand town in lockdown after gunman kills 2 at job centre http://bbc.in/1vC5Ed5 pic.twitter.com/u4uxwqZjQ3
BBC News (World) …
Police have confirmed two people were shot dead this morning by a gunman at Work and Income in Ashburton.
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Strong 6.3-earthquake jolts New Zealand: USGS
AFP News
A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand Monday, halting train services and knocking merchandise off shelves, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.
The quake, which struck at 3:52pm (0252 GMT), was centred in the North Island about 115 kilometres (71 miles) northeast of the capital city Wellington, the US Geological Survey said.
The tremor hit at a depth of 27 kilometres and was widely felt throughout the North and South islands. It was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/strong-6-3-quake-jolts-zealand-usgs-041109122.html
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The giant eagle from the Hobbit movie falls to the ground at Wellington airport after New Zealand is jolted by an earthquake.
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THE HAKA
stuff.co.nz
Haka debate: Other countries are jealous
TERESA SMYTH
The haka has come under fire recently. We asked readers, has the haka had its day? Teresa Smyth says a resounding no!
The haka is awesome! Other countries are jealous they don’t have something similar. We should be proud to see it performed in such a powerful way.
I lived away from New Zealand for seven years and going to rugby games abroad and seeing the haka was just plain cool. The national pride you feel and the sense of awe you get from seeing it performed is a privilege.
The best experience I had was sitting in the crowd at the Stade de France watching New Zealanders and the French sit there in silence. The French were just as much in awe as I was.
Read the whole article:
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stuff.co.nz
Romanos: Has the All Blacks’ haka had its day?
JOSEPH ROMANOS
OPINION: Ireland prop Cian Healy bought himself a whole lot of publicity – little of it complimentary – when he slammed the All Blacks’ haka in the lead-up to the test at Lansdowne Road.
Healy seemed to be going to extraordinary lengths not to be intimidated.
He said he hated the haka and wondered why the All Blacks were allowed to perform it before tests.
He also said he never used the term All Blacks, preferring to call them New Zealand.
Predictably, Healy was laughed out of court in New Zealand rugby circles, but he had a point.
I don’t hate the haka, but do feel it is so ridiculously over-done these days that its currency has been devalued.
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I’m with Cian Healy.
As a pre-test activity, the haka has had its day.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/9453840/Has-the-haka-had-its-day
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No, don’t give in to cyber bullying! Tell your parents if it happens to you.
The New Zealand Herald
High school student strikes back at cyber bullies
By Ben Aulakh of the Westport News
A Buller High School student has hit back at bullies she says suggested she kill herself.
Year 10 student Bek Collins yesterday told a school assembly of students from Years 9 and 10 someone had sent her a message through the Ask FM website. It told her to commit suicide, and that no one would care if she did so.
The website allows users to create a profile of themselves. People visiting the profile can answer questions the user has posted about themself.
Ms Collins’ presentation to the assembly included a response to those who’d sent the message.
“I would like to take a minute here to tell that person, whoever you are, that I’m still here and that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
She said that in nine-and-a-half years of schooling she had been to seven different schools. At every school, and for as long as she could remember, she had been bullied.
She knew the people who had sent her the unpleasant internet message were in yesterday’s assembly, because of the clues that were left.
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Bullying someone was also a criminal offence, as well as an infringement of their human rights, their safety and dignity.
It was a cowardly act to make someone think that they should take their own life, she said.
She also paid tribute to the support she’d had from her family.
I’m just glad that I have grandparents and a mother who are going to follow this through to the end. We will find out who is responsible.”
Westport police Community Constable Paul Sampson was also at the assembly. He told the students that cyber bullying was a “gutless act”. People couldn’t hide on the internet, as nothing was secret once posted on the web.
Mr Sampson said the issue was being taken very seriously by the Government. The Ministry of Justice had pushed through legislation which could mean three years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of inciting someone to commit suicide.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11159667
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Moments ago the Council received reports of a strong 4.4-magnitude earthquake 10km south of Christchurch. More info to come.
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The New Zealand Herald
Christchurch hit by quake
Christchurch has been hit by a strong quake tonight.
The 4.4-magnitude quake struck just after 11.30pm.
The GeoNet website said the quake, which was classified as strong, was centred 10km south of the city, at a depth of 11km.
– APNZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11159212
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The New Zealand Herald
Woman sent for psychological evaluation after car attack
By James Ihaka
11:49 AM Monday Nov 18, 2013
The woman allegedly involved in a hit-and-run incident in Waikato has been sent for psychological evaluation, police say.
Witnesses reported seeing the woman use her car to knock a man into a footpath outside a Hamilton dairy yesterday. She then drove over a 10 metre bank into the Waikato River.
The drama started outside Merv’s Superette on Ohaupo Rd about 11.55am when Kanj Patel heard a couple arguing outside his parents’ store.
The 15-year-old said he heard the man telling the woman that he was going to leave her “and then she ran him over”.
“The first time we thought it was just an accident but then the second time we knew it wasn’t.”
Psych evaluation after car attack
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The New Zealand Herald
River plunge follows hit and run
By James Ihaka, APNZ staff
A woman ran over her partner several times with a car in front of stunned onlookers at Hamilton shops before fleeing from police and crashing into the Waikato River today.
The man suffered serious injuries when he was hit by the car, Acting Detective Inspector Ross McKay said.
Clock on link for the report and video!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11158625
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The New Zealand Herald
The $1.7m Malaysia-based scratchie scam
By Anna Leask
They were told they must pay money to “release” their prize, including local taxes and legal, insurance and court fees. Photo / Thinkstock
Have you been affected by the scam? Email the Herald.
A retired policeman and a chartered accountant are among 55 New Zealanders fleeced for $1.7 million by a Malaysia-based scam.
And, despite being humiliated, a woman who lost $18,000 has decided to speak out in a bid to save others from the same fate. “I want to stop other people being caught up in this the way I was,” she said.
The woman, who holds multiple university degrees, made three payments, the first in July.
“By August, the penny dropped. I know it’s my own fault this has happened. I didn’t get dreadfully upset or anything, because I just thought well, you’ve been silly. I’m not as much ashamed as embarrassed and humiliated.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Aaron Pascoe told the Herald that the scam had been running since at least April, involving a scratch-and-win-style ticket from a travel firm in Malaysia.
Victims “win” more than US$150,000, and then contact the company to arrange getting their prize.
They are told they must pay money to “release” their prize, including local taxes and legal, insurance and court fees to “prove the money is not from illicit offending”.
“It kind of seems reasonable to people. There’s two distinct groups – people who never ever pay the second amount and people who are hellbent on following through with it.”
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‘Fraudsters rely on people’s trust’
It’s not just dummies who get scammed.
“High-profile and intelligent people being scammed proves that we are all susceptible,” psychologist Nathan Gaunt says.
“The dream of winning lotto is such a common fantasy.
“I think some people get taken by scams because they are not seeing the details or they’re thinking the best of people. They’re not experienced at being suspicious.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=11156735
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stuff.co.nz
Kiwis caught in multi-million dollar scam
Sixty New Zealanders have lost more than $1.8 million in a Chinese scratch-and-win scam which police warn is still sucking money out of victims around the world.
New Zealanders have gone to their banks and withdrawn cash – in one case $200,000 – and taken it to Western Union and other money remittance services to send it to aliases known to be in China.
“It is kind of tragic, incredibly tragic for the people caught,” Detective Senior Sergeant Aaron Pascoe said.
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he scam, based around the name Park Lane Holiday, appears to operate out of Malaysia, with Malaysian phone numbers and postmarks, but Pascoe said that was a front.
“I cannot say Malaysia isn’t involved; the company purports to be a Malaysian travel company,” he said, adding police have had co-operation from remittance services and so know the money has gone to “multiple false identities” in China.
“Where the money is going is usually a pretty good indication of where the organisers of the criminal activity are based.”
The $1.8m cannot be recovered and Pascoe said all he could do was make sure people learned a lesson.
“The most important thing is that you never ever use a money remittance agent to send money to someone you don’t know,” he said.
“The minute you are doing a business deal via money remittance agencies you are being scammed.”
Tragic’ kiwis caught in scam
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Crowdsourced Library @PeculiarBlend
Unbelievable “@latimesdixon: Rape victim could have ‘closed her legs’, lawyer tells court in New Zealand. http://www.smh.com.au/world/rape-victim-could-have-closed-her-legs-lawyer-tells-court-20131114-2xhmv.html … via @smh“
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Lawyer must have left his brains at home.
stuff.co.nz
Rape victim could have ‘closed legs’, says lawyer
MICHELLE DUFF
A young Wellington woman raped by a bouncer in an alleyway could have “closed her legs” if she didn’t want sex, the man’s lawyer told a jury.
Keith Jefferies was addressing the Wellington District Court in defence of George Jason Pule, who was found guilty last night of raping the drunk 20-year-old after telling her he could help get her into a club to see her friends.
His comments were condemned after the verdict as “disgusting” and “disrespectful” by Wellington Rape Crisis manager Natalie Gousmett.
They come in the wake of the Roast Busters scandal, in which a group of young Auckland men boasted online of having sex with drunken girls as young as 13.
Jefferies told the jury that the complainant and Pule, 34, a bouncer at The Establishment bar, had walked down Courtenay Place holding hands before having consensual sex in the early hours of October 22, 2011.
He claimed the woman made a false complaint to police six days later because she regretted the sex. There was no struggle or any threats, nor was there violence, Jefferies said in his closing arguments yesterday.
“All she would have had to do was to close her legs . . . it’s as simple as that,” he told the jury. “Why didn’t she do that? . . . The reason she didn’t do that was because the sex was consensual, as easy as that.”
Gousmett said Jefferies’ remarks were unacceptable. “It’s disgusting, but also unnecessary, to use that kind of victim-blaming rhetoric.”
Jefferies said after the verdict that his comments were made as part of the defence, and were not his personal view.
“This is the defence of a criminal charge. The Crown and the judge didn’t complain about it.”
The case revolved around whether sex was consensual, which made the complainant’s position important, he said.
“The accused was of the view there was an element of willingness from the accuser, and that she was a willing partner. What I say to the jury doesn’t represent my personal view. It merely represents the defence.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9397528/Rape-victim-could-have-closed-legs-says-lawyer
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news24
Fury after ‘Close your legs’ rape defence
2013-11-14 08:28
Wellington – Victims’ rights advocates in New Zealand on Thursday condemned a defence lawyer who told a rape victim she should have “closed her legs” if she wanted to avoid having sex.
Defence lawyer Keith Jefferies made the remarks when summing up at the trial of his client, a nightclub bouncer who was convicted of rape in Wellington District Court on Wednesday, the Dominion Post reported.
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Natalie Gousmett from the Wellington Rape Crisis Centre said the remarks were “horrific” and attempted to shift the blame for sexual assault onto the victim.
She said the case, and the so-called “Roastbusters” controversy which involved a group of Auckland youths boasting online about having group sex with underage girls had thrown a spotlight on attitudes to sexual assault in New Zealand.
“It is an example of victim-blaming comments and rape culture, which we’ve seen all too much in the last week and a half,” she said.
“It’s very offensive obviously, and harmful for the victim and her family.”
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Anger-in-New-Zealand-at-close-your-legs-rape-defence-20131114
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weehingthong 