KEY POINTS:
An Auckland woman was amazed to be threatened with arrest when she took a cup for a drink of water at a Wanganui movie theatre.
When AUT journalism lecturer Nikki Mandow went to the Embassy 3 Cinema in central Wanganui two weeks ago she bought a ticket and some popcorn, and was thirsty - so asked for a cup of water.
She was told customers had to buy a soft drink cup for $2.80 or bottled water.
Mandow offered to pay 20c for the paper cup to fill with water, but the staff member would not budge, and the lecturer eventually asked what might happen if she simply took a cup to drink from.
"She said we'll call the police. I thought 'oh yeah', and took the cup. And the amazing thing is, the police actually came. I mean, this is the place where they had a kid shot in a drive-by gang shooting," she said, referring to the murder of two-year old Jhia Te Tua in May.
The lecturer went into the cinema to watch the film. Next thing she knew a security guard came in to speak to her, and police had arrived. "They were really quick, they must have been there within 10 minutes."
Mandow was made to promise she would pay for the cup after the film finished, and was threatened with arrest by the officer if she did not. On her way out she again offered to pay 20c for the cup, which was accepted by the staff of the cinema. A spokesman for the Wanganui police confirmed officers had attended. He said the incident file reported Mandow was being abusive in the foyer of the business, and had then entered the cinema with stolen items.
"All we get told is what we get told," he said. The file had been closed by the attending officers with no further comment.
"I suppose I was more amused more than anything,"Mandow said. "It's a basic human right to have a glass of water, and they're not paying for it. And I was happy to pay for the paper cup... It's just weird isn't it?"
The general manager of Embassy 3, Gary Vinnell, told the Herald on Sunday that his staff had told him Mandow had been abusive and had not offered to pay for the cup. "Usually we wouldn't have a problem, we have ways of giving customers water if they need it. It was the attitude [of the customer] in this case."
