A 71-year-old Hamilton man has been left shaken after he was randomly and viciously assaulted outside his home.
Last Monday Graham Stewart heard noises from the street and went to check what was going on when a man came up behind him and punched him.
"I had a look up the road, down the road and the next minute kaboom, the lights went out," said Stewart.
Stewart suffered a concussion and lacerations to his forehead, nose, cheek and ear.
"There was a lot of blood ... they had to put five stitches in my ear," he said.
He was also kept overnight in hospital for monitoring.
The assault happened around 7pm on Rimu St.
A police spokesperson said inquiries into the incident are ongoing.
Stewart recalled that a woman in a car across the street was yelling at his attacker, and then the attacker also hopped into this vehicle.
He said he is now on a lot of painkillers, has headaches and is needing to sleep often following the assault.
He has lived in the area for about six years and said he was never concerned about his safety.
"Before if anything was happening, I would go out and have a look but now I don't want to go out in case it happens again," he said.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate told the Herald crime had become a significant issue in the city and that the assault on Stewart should never have happened.
"My heart sinks every time I hear about one of these aggressive incidents, especially when innocent people are harmed for no reason at all," she said.
"What happened to that gentleman should not have happened, that's a horrible unwarranted attack on him.
Southgate said she recently had a meeting with police minister Chris Hipkins and relayed her concerns to him and called for more attention to be given to Hamilton.
"I made it quite clear to him that we need greater police resourcing and support so that our police can have a greater presence in the community," she said.
"He's heard that message and he himself acknowledges that there has probably been 30 years of underinvestment in some aspects of crime prevention, so I am looking forward to hearing from him about how the Government is going to address this going forward."
This attack comes as two men were handed home detention sentences last week after assaulting and robbing a 95-year-old man on Christmas Eve last year.
Christian Henson and Jeremiah Moeara wanted money - so they set up near a busy money machine and waited for the "perfect target".
When they saw a frail and elderly man approach the ASB ATM in Auckland's Royal Oak, Henson followed him and watched as he withdrew $1000 in cash.
The young men then climbed into a car and followed the 95-year-old home and into a secure parking facility that only the residents had access to.
Moeara waited in the car as Henson approached the man and tried to steal his money. When he resisted Henson punched him in the face.
The man, who is now 96, was unable to attend the sentencing due to medical reasons but Ah Koy read the victim impact statement on his behalf.
"This attack has impacted my wellbeing, physically and mentally, I suffered head injuries, internal bleeding in my ear, swelling and a black eye.
"As of this date I have not received an apology and I feel there was a lack of respect given to my suffering."
Henson was given a starting point of five years' imprisonment but was given discounts for his guilty plea, remorse, cultural report and support from his family. He was sentenced to 13 months' home detention by Judge Kirsten Lummis.
Moeara's starting point was three years' imprisonment, but, due to his guilty plea, cultural report and remorse, his sentence was reduced to seven months' home detention.
"What a Christmas present you gentlemen had given him," said Lummis.
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