A man arrested after allegedly taking a woman hostage at knifepoint at a major Auckland shopping mall has appeared in court. The man, in front of numerous witnesses, allegedly grabbed the woman at Manukau Westfield shopping centre’s food court yesterday morning and held her hostage for more than an hour. One witness photographed him holding a knife to the Christchurch woman, who had been at the mall with her daughter. The man briefly appeared at Manukau District Court today on charges of unlawfully detaining the woman without her consent. Police were called at 8.50am to the hostage situation and were at the scene within minutes, he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 09, 2018 21:56 UTC