The Marewa shopping centre, where a man with Down Syndrome was robbed of his backpack on Saturday afternoon. Photo/File
The Marewa shopping centre, where a man with Down Syndrome was robbed of his backpack on Saturday afternoon. Photo/File
A man with Down Syndrome who went out to buy his lunch was robbed of his backpack and cellphone, and his pie and doughnut.
The 21-year-old man is not thought have been assaulted other than the bag being ripped away from him, but one experienced disabilities support worker says suchan incident is "despicable", but "sadly, not unheard-of".
"This is not on at all," said Mark Scullin, when told on Sunday of the incident which happened moments after the victim had bought lunch in the Marewa Village Shopping Centre on Kennedy Rd, Napier, about 1.30pm on Saturday.
A veteran of 10 years working in the field, Scullin said: "I've seen it before. They need all the support they can get, and they certainly don't need to be preyed-upon and ridiculed."
Shoppers around the shopping centre are being asked to keep an eye out for suspicious loitering and report any incidents or anything they may have seen which could be linked to the robbery.
The man walked home and reported the incident to his father who soon afterwards found the discarded backpack near Marewa Kindergarten in Bedford Rd.
The phone, pie and doughnut had been taken, and cards in a wallet had been searched but were still with the bag.
The man's mother, who did not want her son identified, said her son enjoyed his walks to the shops, where he was well known by the retailers and their staff, and they were important to his freedom and independence.
