Hot Water Beach, the elderly man and the brutal home invasion
A 73-year-old man recovering after being bashed during a violent home invasion says he has no choice but to install security cameras.
Robert Noe's Los Angeles-based daughter, Morgan, is also worried what will happen when he finally gets to return home in case his attackers decide to "finish thejob".
Noe was left bloodied and bruised after four people stormed his rural Whitianga home just after midnight on Saturday.
His attackers ripped out a steel pole holding down the front gate of the 2km long driveway near Hot Water Beach before going through three other gates and two electric fences to get to him.
Noe noticed the group after seeing flashlights in his home. After yelling out to them, he went outside where he was bashed about the arm and head at the back of his house at Whenuakite.
Noe claimed the attack followed a sustained campaign of harassment to get him out of the Coromandel town. A website has also been set up claiming he owes people in both the United States and New Zealand up to $5 million. Noe dismisses the claims.
He said he had been followed at a close distance to the gate of his home late at night, and been burgled and assaulted while waiting for coffee at a local cafe.
The Herald has also seen an email where the author of the website wrote "we have 23 people in the area assisting with tracking him 24/7".
Noe said he did owe a former business associate more than $300,000 after he lost a protracted legal wrangle.
The former business associate, who the Herald has chosen not to name, denies any involvement in either the attack or the operation of the website.
Robert Noe pictured recovering in Waikato Hospital. Photo / File
Noe told the Herald he was set to undergo surgery today on his arm which is fractured in three places. He also has a fractured eye socket.
He said his daughter was now fearful of what could happen once he was finally out of hospital and able to return home.
"I have a lot of people worried about me going back ... my daughter is very concerned about me going back to that house and them finishing the job. I'm out there, at a remote site and, so, unless the police do their job, I could be a statistic here."
Noe said he didn't have security cameras but admitted it was something he would now have to look at.
"Obviously, because of all the problems, yes, I should have installed them, but I had not.
"My hope for the result of all of this is that the police do their work. This didn't happen randomly, this was a targeted attack."
