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A sick teenager who is suffering from a growth on her brain was viciously mugged in a park by two men for her training shoes.
The girl's doctor and mother said the attack, where she was punched in the head and knocked to the ground, could have killed her because of her condition.
Hinemoa Maaka, 17, was sitting in Riversdale Park in Avondale about 3pm on Tuesday when two young men approached her. One of the men demanded her $170 Converse shoes, which she was given by her mother for her birthday on October 6.
"I told him 'no, they're mine'," she said. "Everything my Mum gives me, I sort of treasure because I don't get things like that every week like other kids do."
One of the men punched her in the head and she fell to the ground. When she tried to get back up, the other tried to kick her in the head - a move Hinemoa's mother, Tanya Maaka, said could have killed her daughter.
For the past three months, Hinemoa has not been able to attend school because she has been "blacking out" and is often sleepy due to a mystery illness. Doctors have detected a growth on her brain but are not yet certain what it is and are awaiting test results.
"When my daughter walked in covered in blood I just sort of freaked," Mrs Maaka said. "She had a bleeding nose and a swollen cheek. The doctor said had that kick connected I could have been burying my daughter today."
Mrs Maaka is urging anyone who saw the men, or who recognises their description below, to call police.
One of the offenders had hair which was black and short at the sides, with a blond mohawk. He was about 182cm tall and wore faded jeans and a long, green "basketball" singlet with the word "Celtic". He was aged about 18.
The other man was about 172cm tall, aged about 17, and had a white singlet with the word "Celtic" on it and green cargo shorts.
The men ran away from the park - without Hinemoa's shoes - on foot on Dampier St.
Anyone with information is asked to call Avondale police: (09) 820 5700.
