Pukekohe Molotov cocktail attack: Accused tells judge wrong person was arrested

Manukau District Court. Photo / NZPA

A woman accused of burning three people with a Molotov cocktail in South Auckland over the weekend made her first appearance in court on Tuesday, claiming during a tearful court outburst that police arrested the wrong person.

Manukau District Court Judge Nick Webby granted interim name suppression for the 32-year-old New Lynn resident. He also suppressed several details about the incident.

The woman was remanded into custody without plea until her next hearing in December.

"I'm all bruised up," the woman said at the end of the hearing, which was conducted over an audio-video feed due to Covid-19 precautions. "How could I be the criminal in this situation?

"I'm not the person who did all this."

Police arrested the woman on Sunday afternoon after the alleged attack in Pukekohe left one person with critical injuries at Middlemore Hospital. The person is now in a serious but stable condition, police confirmed on Tuesday.

The other two suffered minor burns, police said.

The confrontation was not random, according to police.

The woman has been charged with threatening to kill one person, assault with a Molotov cocktail of another and causing grievous bodily harm to a third person. If convicted, she could face up to seven years' prison for the threat charge, five years for the alleged assault and 14 years for grievous bodily harm.

Police have declined to comment further on the case because it is now before the courts.