Just hours after being awarded a citation for his service in the Korean War a Whangarei man had his home burgled as he and his wife slept.
Army veteran Tom Cottle, 86, was among eight veterans of the RNZ Artillery 16th Field Regiment to be awarded his Korean Presidential Citation by Dae-hee Lee, the Republic of Korea's consul-general in New Zealand, last Thursday, the Northern Advocate reported.
But at 2am the next morning Mr Cottle disturbed burglars in the act of removing a television. He noticed the television by an open door and then heard a vehicle in the driveway.
After the police arrived the couple realised his wife Lourdes' bag - containing credit cards, a purse and mobile phone - was missing. Later on Friday they learned from the bank, that some of the couple's money was gone, too.
Mrs Cottle said it was possible a pin number had been written on a scrap of paper in her purse.
