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A teenage boy in custody at an Auckland youth justice facility has been attacked with a mixture of hot water and sugar, leaving him disfigured and at risk of losing his sight.
It is the latest in a string of incidents at the embattled Korowai Manaaki facility in Wiri, and comes after staff members were charged for allegedly arranging fights, and groups of boys climbed onto the roof in protest.
Harrowing details of the latest incident obtained by the Herald suggest it is the most serious to date and represents an escalation of violence in the beleaguered youth justice system on par with adult prisons.
On Sunday night, a youth at the facility allegedly threw a microwaved cup of water and sugar into the face of another teenager, who was on remand. Legal restrictions limit what else can be reported about the victim.
The mixture of hot water and sugar is known colloquially as “prison napalm”, after the weaponised mixture of gel and fuel made notorious through its use in the Vietnam War.
Like its combat equivalent, prison napalm sticks to the skin and can cause deep and traumatic burns, making it more painful and dangerous than if hot water alone was used.
Inside Korowai Manaaki in 2017, New Zealand's largest youth justice facility. Photo / Michael Craig
The victim was taken to hospital. He suffered serious facial burns and is understood to be at risk of at least partially losing his sight.
In a statement, Oranga Tamariki national director of youth justice and care and protection residences, Paula Attrill, confirmed a microwaved cup of water and sugar was allegedly thrown by a youth into another teen’s face. She would not comment on the injuries, citing privacy.
One young person has been arrested and charged, Attrill said.
“This was an unacceptable event and has been incredibly distressing for staff and rangatahi at Korowai Manaaki,” Attrill said.
“Staff are actively supporting the young man and his whānau.”
An investigation was under way, she said.
“Young people deserve the right to feel safe in our residences, and we are investigating what occurred in this situation and how it could have been prevented.”
Korowai Manaaki, with 46 beds, is the largest of the country’s five youth justice facilities.
Until 2019, they were solely for those aged 16 and under. A law change in July of that year allowed 17 and 18-year-olds into the facilities.
The legislative change followed recommendations from an expert advisory panel, which said youth offenders should be seen as vulnerable young people who can be prevented from re-offending.
Five young people spent the night of July 1, 2023 on the roof and within its cavity at Korowai Manaaki, a youth justice facility in Auckland. The Children's Commissioner found youths regularly climb on to the roof. Photo / Alex Burton
Earlier this year, former police commissioner Mike Bush was brought in by Oranga Tamariki to oversee all youth justice facilities and community homes following allegations of child abuse against staff working in the residences.
In May, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner made an unannounced visit to Korowai Manaaki as part of its obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Opcat).
It said children do not feel safe at Korowai Manaaki and regularly assault each other in unprovoked attacks.
“There is a prison mentality in the facility, with mokopuna operating in ‘packs’ and co-ordinating assaults on individuals,” the report said.
“Some staff are complicit in allowing these attacks to happen.”
Staff also use contraband to bribe the teenage inmates into good behaviour, the report found. Teenagers regularly abscond onto the roof and there is a high use of secure restraints, the Commissioner said.
"Staff recruitment, training and retention remains a significant issue for the residence.
“Many new staff have no experience working with mokopuna, which makes practice inconsistent across the facility.”
In response, Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani wrote to Judge Eivers expressing “strong disappointment and deep concern” at the evidence of ill-treatment her office had uncovered at the facility.
“I do not underestimate the significance of this finding and have taken immediate steps to be assured that the safety and wellbeing concerns that you have raised are being taken seriously and actively addressed,” Te Kani wrote.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
