Man admits kidnapping real estate agent

The man accused of kidnapping and assaulting a female real estate agent, who then stabbed him in the head with a screwdriver, has pleaded guilty.

Nigel Craig Whakarau, 39, unemployed and of no fixed abode, appeared in the High Court at Wellington today, and admitted three charges that arose from an incident in the Wairarapa in August last year.

The real estate agent was kidnapped and tied up during a private viewing of a Carterton house on August 2 last year.

Whakarau attempted to bundle the 41-year-old woman into the boot of his car but she managed to grab a screwdriver and stab him in the head.

He was charged with confining, or kidnapping the woman, assaulting her while having a knife and robbing her while possessing an offensive instrument, which was masking tape.

Justice Forrie Miller remanded Whakarau in custody until June 19 for sentencing, pending a pre-sentence report and two health reports.

The Crown was seeking a sentence of preventive detention, he said.

- NZPA