Sylvia Park phone kiosk worker avoids conviction for intimate photo theft attempt
His safety would be at further risk, Judge Fraser said, if a name was put to the viral video post - 'likely continuing the social media scrum of scorn and abuse', including a large number of racist comments.
The customer's confrontation with the employee, in July last year, was viewed more than 1 million times on TikTok and was shared on other social media sites as well. It showed the irate victim insisting on an explanation from the defendant's manager as the defendant stood quietly in the background.
At the end of the video, the defendant appeared to faint.
Court documents state the victim had handed her Apple iPhone over to the Mobile Planet kiosk around 12.30 that afternoon wanting it fixed ahead of an overseas holiday.
Another employee took her information, including her phone access code, and told her to return in 45 minutes.
'She inquired why her pin number was required and was told it was to check the camera function after it was fixed,' the agreed summary of facts for the case states.
The defendant then scrolled through her photos and used the Apple AirDrop function - used to wirelessly send files between nearby phones - to send the nude photo of the customer to himself.
In the viral TikTok video, it was explained that the victim had taken the photo years ago for a partner and the employee would have needed to scroll for quite some time to get to it.
After collecting her phone, the woman received a message that an AirDrop attempt had failed. The notification included a thumbnail photo of the intimate image.
'The victim gave the staff of Mobile Planet permission to access her phone for the purpose of fixing her camera,' authorities noted in the summary of facts. 'She did not give the defendant permission to view her photographs and attempt to obtain the photographs, which are her property.'
The defendant, who has no previous criminal history, pleaded guilty to trying to access a computer system for dishonest purposes.
'He accepts this is wrong. He is deeply remorseful for it,' said defence lawyer Sarah Baird, who described her client as an 'otherwise exemplary young man who has made a mistake'.
Since then, she said, he has tried to pay back the community for the 'momentary lapse in judgement' by volunteering at Auckland City Mission for over 100 hours.
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Police opposed the defendant's application for a discharge without conviction but were neutral to his permanent name suppression application. The media opposed suppression, noting the futility of trying to contain the already widely distributed video.
The victim, who did not attend the hearing, also opposed the requests. In a written victim impact statement referred to by the judge, the woman said she continues to feel anxiety in public spaces. The incident, she said, triggered 'past trauma of men taking advantage of me'. Now she has trouble trusting people even in a professional environment, she said.
'She said she should not have to live with the violation while you walk away without consequences,' Judge Fraser noted.
But the judge also pointed to defence submissions that the defendant came from a respected family in Sri Lanka, where family honour plays a large part in the culture. He feared emotional rejection, long-term isolation and physical violence if his family were to find out about the case, the court was told.
The judge referred to the defendant's own explanation, that he came across the photo by accident and impulsively decided to send it to himself 'out of foolish curiosity and poor judgment'. The defendant said he is thankful the attempt failed.
'There is absolutely no doubt that you are experiencing remorse,' Judge Fraser said, adding that the defendant has been assessed as having a low likelihood of reoffending.
'The consequences [of name publication] for you are enormous.'
The judge ordered the defendant to pay $1500 in emotional harm reparation to the victim. He acknowledged, however, that the defendant wouldn't have the ability to pay it off until he is able to gain employment again.
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NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
The rise of online misogyny: How worried should we be about the manosphere?
The mother of three sons in their teens and early 20s, she's seen all of them struggle in different ways to find their place. A lifelong advocate for equality and women's rights, she says the tidal wave of negativity towards young men can be dispiriting. As a parent 'just trying to raise decent human beings', it almost feels as if it's become shameful to be male. Told to man up on the one hand, and shut up on the other, boys are caught in the middle. Photo / Michael Craig Of course, most young men are doing just fine and have healthy, respectful relationships with the women in their lives. However, there's no question that the rise in degrading online content has become alarmingly mainstream. Moya, a 21-year-old university student, says some of the men her age have no idea how to be intimate in real life with women, acting out the dominance and aggression they've seen in porn videos. Studies show predictive algorithms are more likely to generate misogynistic content if the user is a young man, even more so if he's struggling with mental health difficulties or social isolation. When researchers at Dublin City University created TikTok accounts for fake 16-year-old boys, it took less than nine minutes for 'troubling' male supremacy content to appear in their social feeds. The UK Government is so concerned by what's happening that a review of its counter-terrorism strategy includes misogyny as one of the 'extremist ideologies' on its watch list. In the British TV series Adolescence, a 13-year-old boy is charged with the murder of a female classmate. Set in the north of England, Adolescence struck such a chord with the public that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has supported the series being shown in schools to combat online male radicalisation. Last month, it was announced that British students aged 11 to 18 would be taught about the dangers of incel culture (where men express extreme hostility and resentment towards women for their lack of sexual success) and the link between misogyny and online porn. In Australia, too, teachers are being given new resources to counter the brand of toxic masculinity promoted by high-profile influencers such as Andrew Tate. The former kickboxing star, who has millions of social media followers, is currently facing rape and human-trafficking charges in Romania. While the number of teenagers who take Tate seriously seems to be diminishing, his view of women as inferior sexual commodities has become staple fare in the modern equivalent of locker-room banter. Last year, a cluster of boys at an elite private school in Melbourne were suspended after posting photos of their female classmates online and rating them on a scale from 'wifey' to 'unrapeable'. Controversial social media star Andrew Tate promotes a dominant alpha-male image to impressionable young men. Photo / @cobratatealiveofficial The infiltration of the manosphere isn't something we're immune to here, either. Charlotte, a New Zealand teacher who's written about 'radical misogyny' for UK-based research and training organisation ConnectFutures, says educators increasingly face a culture of sexist hostility. 'In the last few years, I've met it in 'joking' memes ('Miss, what colour is your Bugatti?'), querying of my professional competency ('Miss, our science teacher said that women have fewer brain cells than men: does that mean you're not qualified to teach us?'), assault-apologism ('But, Miss, lots of women do lie about rape'), and open hostility ('Miss, you're a f***ing b****h!').' Students at the boys' school where she teaches report being shown manosphere-adjacent content by TikTok at least once a day. At the same time, she's seeing the boys starting to push back against the extremist messages they're being sold. While the #MeToo movement has sparked 'justified rage', she says inflammatory terms like rape culture and toxic masculinity can be alienating. 'Young men are prone to reading such language as suggesting they are either incurably toxic or will be forever seen as such. The manosphere explicitly encourages this exact kind of misreading. 'When young men believe that society at large has little care for them, then the false community of online spaces becomes their only option.' Most teens say they don't take alpha-male influencers such as Tate seriously, sharing offensive reels or memes for a laugh. However, even that can validate behaviour that's not okay, warns Claire Meehan, author of The Politics of Porn for Young People in New Zealand and a senior lecturer in criminology at Auckland University. On August 26, she's giving a public talk titled 'Not Just Jokes' on how teen culture is being shaped by online misogyny, as part of the university's annual Raising the Bar event – a free speaker series held at various bars across the central city. Claire Meehan, a senior lecturer in criminology at Auckland University and author of The Politics of Porn for Young People in New Zealand. Humour is often used to disguise offensive messaging, Meehan says, and as a defence mechanism against anyone who's upset by it. 'They can say they were just joking, so it's on you for being too serious, but all those little things add up to normalise sexual violence against women,' she says. 'And it's not just online; it's sexist jokes at home. Some of our radio stations are appalling. 'It's recognising that sometimes things aren't funny, and a lot of this is on young men, because they have the power to say to their mates, actually, that's not okay.' Meehan says one of the 'tells' among men's rights activists and hardline groups, such as Men Going Their Own Way, is referring to girls or women as females, implying they're an inferior or even subhuman species. A recent study in the UK found Gen Z boys and men are more likely than Baby Boomers to believe feminism has done more harm than good. One in four believes it's harder to be a man than a woman these days. 'So we're seeing this massive regression,' she says. 'The world's in flux, we're in a cost-of-living crisis, there's high unemployment and people are feeling disenfranchised. It's easy to have this notion that boys are being disadvantaged. 'We also know that in school, girls typically do better. But if you look at CEOs across New Zealand and elsewhere, girls just aren't getting in. The glass ceiling is still there.' Aggravating the problem is the lack of high-profile male role models providing a counter-narrative. 'Andrew Tate is rich, he's successful, he's hyper-masculine, he seems to have all these women on the go. And, it kills me to say, he's incredibly charismatic. Like anyone, he has a shelf life, but once he becomes out of date, someone new will come in.' Toxic messages can spread quickly, Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault says. Photo / Dean Purcell Papatoetoe High principal Vaughan Couillault sees that vacuum already being filled by women promoting an image of sexual empowerment, such as controversial US rapper Cardi B and porn star Bonnie Blue, who launched her career on OnlyFans and was filmed in January attempting to set a world record by sleeping with more than 1000 men in 12 hours. 'You've got women with huge followings saying spit on this or choke that. Yeah, I'm 'empowered', but this is how I want someone to treat me?' he says. 'One of the things we're trying very hard to do here is keep a lid on that kind of toxicity. We're acutely aware of how quickly a message can spread and how hard it is for us to police that.' The immediate past president of Spanz, which represents secondary principals, Couillault says there's an increasing awareness of the negative impact of porn. School nurses have seen a rise in the number of students needing treatment for anal fissures because inexperienced teenagers don't know how to practise anal sex safely. Sex sells, but rapper Cardi B's explicit lyrics are sending the wrong message to both young men and women, according to Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault. Papatoetoe High begins introducing modules on consent, respect and healthy sexual relationships from Year 9 and 10. The school has a unisex uniform and celebrates diversity. Their head boy wore a dress to the senior ball. The beauty of young people, Couillault says, is that most of them are pretty good humans. 'But if you're happy with the transgender and fluid sexuality side, you've got to be allowed to be a bloke, as well. It's when you think your rights and beliefs are more valuable and need to overpower another's that it becomes problematic.' The politicisation of gender issues and what constitutes an acceptable male identity is a key theme in US-based journalist Ruth Whippman's book, BoyMom, which was published last year. The mother of three rambunctious, Nerf gun-loving sons, she's found it challenging to raise them in what she calls 'the age of impossible masculinity', where her feminist peers often dismiss boys as little more than entitled predators-in-waiting. California-based journalist Ruth Whippman, author of BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity. While the left has branded masculinity as toxic, she writes, politicians and online influencers on the right are peddling a new brand of wounded, furious manhood that combines superhero fantasies with defensive rage. 'We never really fixed the old expectations of masculinity – man up, be tough, squash your feelings, don't be vulnerable. That's still very real,' she says from her home in California. 'Then this new set of pressures is telling boys it's time to shut up and let somebody else speak. 'A lot of them are retreating into online spaces, watching porn rather than asking a girl out on a date because it just feels so fraught in the real world.' As a feminist, journalist Ruth Whippman had strong ideas on how boys should behave. Raising her own three sons, Solly, Zephy and Abe, challenged many of her preconceptions. Whippman's research into hardwired gender differences found that while boys may be more aggressive than girls, they're also more sensitive, fragile and emotionally vulnerable on almost every measure. Dr Niobe Way, a developmental psychologist based at New York University, told her that boys at preschool and primary school demonstrate similar levels of empathy and emotional intelligence to girls the same age, and form emotionally connected friendships. However, as boys reach adolescence, social expectations and masculinity norms start to get in the way. 'They're born as human and then we basically smack it out of them as they get older,' Way says. Ironically, the one place Whippman found where young men experienced a sense of belonging and felt safe to share their struggles with other men was within online incel communities. 'Alongside all the horrible misogyny and racism was this real vulnerability and emotional connection, which was really surprising to me,' she says. 'Women are still disadvantaged in society in so many ways, and every conversation needs to be pulled back to that truth and injustice, but the rhetoric that all men are trash just pushes these kids away. 'If we don't want our boys to look for belonging and connection in the manosphere, they have to be able to find it somewhere else.' That resonated with many of the people spoken to for this story, who talked of a post-Covid loneliness epidemic among young men. Women in their 20s on the dating scene say ideological echoes of the men's rights movement have become more prevalent, with feminism being blamed for making life worse. 'Masculinity is having a very weird moment,' one says. 'There's a sense of victimhood among guys who feel a little bit forgotten by society and have slipped through the cracks.' What this woman thinks men need is a sensible male version of feminism they can relate to. In Adolescence, the boy loved his sister and mother, but the only person whose opinion he really cared about was his father. '[Actor] Emma Watson is like the Volvo of feminism, right? Mainstream, inoffensive, everyone loves it. There's none of that for men.' Outspoken Harry Potter star Emma Watson is seen as the acceptable face of modern feminism. Samir, 22, works as a personal trainer at an inner-city gym in Auckland. He says social media is riddled with fitness influencers promoting their own brand of toxic masculinity under the guise of physical health. For young men presented with an ideal male physique that is simply unattainable, issues around body dysmorphia and depression have become a real concern. Samir and his friend, James, have no time for the misogynistic posturing by influencers looking to make money by manipulating their impressionable followers, although they don't see a social media ban on under-16s as feasible. However, they do have some sympathy for the view that a cultural shift to championing diversity has gone too far – creating a sense of self-loathing among some young men who feel they have no right to even express an opinion. 'The number of times you dial into politics and hear the phrase 'straight white male'; it's quite dismissive,' James says. 'I understand the point they're trying to make, but it's like, okay, a quarter of the population isn't allowed to have a voice anymore? That's just not the solution.' Megan McKee, a professional mentor and career coach, has worked with young men struggling to make sense of where they fit. The world has become an uncertain place, she says, and men tend to have fewer resources when it comes to dealing with that. A report released this year by the Centre for Social Justice in the UK found boys were more likely to own a smartphone than live with their dad. 'Boys confront and are confronted by uncertainty in different ways,' McKee, who's also an army officer, says. 'And when they're uncertain, they're vulnerable. 'Girls talk and cuddle up on the sofa to watch a movie together. They wrap around each other in a way that boys just don't.' Men are hardwired differently, McKee says, and she thinks it's important for women to make a genuine effort to understand and value that. She describes it as 'constructive tolerance'. 'Let's be aware of it, but not use it as a stick to beat them with or let them run the shop. 'Rather than crying and gnashing our teeth and throwing rocks at the Andrew Tates and Donald Trumps in this world, there's a real opportunity to start a conversation that is hopefully nurturing and useful. As a society, I don't think we do that very well. 'Young men are amazing and I'm wildly hopeful and excited about what I see. They fill me with joy, actually, and that's a perspective that needs to get out there as well.' * Name has been changed to protect identity. Some of those interviewed asked for their first names to be used only. Tickets are free for Auckland University's Raising the Bar speaker series on August 26 but must be booked in advance at Joanna Wane is an award-winning senior lifestyle writer with a special interest in social issues and the arts.
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- The Spinoff
What's going on with the Auckland Night Markets?
And how much is too much to pay for a market stall? Aucklanders love a market – wandering around an asphalt carpark with a steaming bao or paua pie, surrounded by their compatriots. Markets have become big business, proliferating throughout the city, and providing options every evening for hungry and thrifty locals. For vendors, all of it comes with a cost; time, stock, labour and the money you pay to a market's organisers for your spot. Stall fees at one market have been the subject of recent criticism, simmering on social media before boiling over into mainstream outlets (a Kiwi classic) as business owners complain of unjustified price increases at Auckland Night Markets, which is also the subject of complaints about management behaviour and communication – allegations that have been denied by owner Victoria Yao and director Paul De Jonge. Alright, catch me up, what's happened now? A July 27 TikTok video from small business owner Yuli Wang went viral, claiming vendors were being 'mistreated' and 'taken advantage of' by the Auckland Night Markets organisers, recounting an incident at the markets where she says she was yelled at, and asked to 'pay more' if she wanted to stay. The video racked up 808.2K views, 64.9K likes and 1.4K comments (some of which detailed other accusations). Across several Instagram posts, the official Auckland Night Markets account responded to Wang's tale and claimed fees were 'always communicated and agreed' with stallholders beforehand, denied charging more than quoted, and insisted staff communicated 'firmly but respectfully'. Addressing what appeared to be the incident with Wang, it alleged she occupied 'three stall spaces in the middle of a walkway'. Another vendor, Elote Cartel, who ran a food stall, told the Herald a week later that Yao upped their agreed fee from $300 to $500 at one market due to 'traffic', before agreeing a lower price. Cartel also claimed they were without power for hours at one market, a location they described as 'dirty' and 'like a dungeon'. A former Auckland Night Markets employee said they quit because of concerns about health and safety (including an empty fire extinguisher, which they supplied photos of) and claimed to have witnessed Yao being 'verbally abusive'. It's not the only media attention Auckland Night Markets has had this year. The owners apologised in May after they publicly criticised Vietnamese food stall Hue's Kitchen (a stall within their own market). A stabbing at the Pakuranga market in June led to calls for increased security, with RNZ canvassing concerns of visitors and vendors, and hearing from Yao that security guards would be increased from three to five. Are these concerns from stallholders new? Sort of. It's not the first time stallholder grievances have made headlines. In 2024 Waikato Times reported a vendor's employee was 'screamed at' by a manager of Hamilton Night Markets (which is operated by Auckland Night Markets). Politicians have grumbled too. In 201,7 Pakuranga Labour candidate Barry Kirker expressed frustration to the Eastern Times that 'the Pakuranga markets have a policy of having to pay $500 for a candidate to walk through there and meet people'. The fee gave a party candidate exclusive campaigning rights on a given date, a spot with table and chairs, and all-night mingling with marketgoers. Where did the Auckland Night Markets even come from? You'd have to have been living under a rock to miss its rise over the past 15 years. It was established in 2010 by Victoria Yao (who runs it alongside husband Paul de Jonge, the manager and director) with the idea of replicating the night markets of China, where the couple operated restaurants and bars before moving to Aotearoa. Their first market had 120 vendors and reportedly drew a crowd of 3,000 to the carpark of Pakuranga Plaza mall. After two years it expanded to five locations and, since then, like the Super City itself, the business has sprawled. There are multiple companies associated with its founders; Paul De Jonge is listed as sole director of Auckland Night Markets Limited, Taupo Night Markets Limited, Rotorua Night Markets Limited, and Night Markets Online Limited – he's a 50:50 shareholder in each alongside Zhi Fen Yao; both are also listed as current directors and shareholders of Queensgate Night Markets Limited, Christchurch Night Markets Limited and Hamilton Night Markets Limited (and Blue Frog Hospitality Limited). Auckland Night Markets' website currently promotes 10 locations on different nights of the week. Markets across Tāmaki Makaurau include Silo Park, Papatoetoe, Mount Wellington, Pakuranga, Botany, Henderson, and Kelston. Down State Highway 1, you'll find two in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton CBD and Chartwell) and even Queensgate in Pōneke. That's a big operation, and there are hundreds of vendors involved every week. Sounds like a massive operation with lots of stallholders. How does it work? You can't just rock up with a trestle table and a bain-marie, there are rules, and not just about setting up in the middle of a walkway. Vendors must comply with the Auckland Night Markets' Stallholder Rules. Food Stall Requirements stipulate an A-grade Food Registration License and current Food Control Plan (the Ministry for Primary Industry's template is 191 pages long and has been translated into Hindi, Vietnamese and other languages) which require registration with the council and professional verification. Stalls must have a fire blanket, fire extinguisher, first aid kit – all visible – plus a rubber floor mat and somewhere for handwashing; all electrics must be tested and tagged, and leads or adaptors have to be industrial grade. Filing a Stallholder Applicant Form doesn't guarantee you a spot, the Auckland Night Markets 'reserves the right to accept or decline any application at its sole discretion, without obligation to provide a reason'. Stallholder pricing for Auckland Night Markets varies, and food vendors (who get access to power) pay more than general vendors. A stall at Kelston on Mondays ($100 for food, $30 for general) is less than Pakuranga on Saturdays ($350 for food, $150 for general). During December and school holidays prices go up, $20 for food vendors and $10 for general stalls. Located on the General Info page is a caveat that 'extra charges apply' for high power usage, though exact costs aren't specified. You'll also find, in capitals, a rule about no rules. 'PLEASE NOTE PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.' You pay fees to the duty manager on the night of the market, and have a short window of time to set up. $350 is a lot! How does that compare to other Auckland markets? Stallholder prices elsewhere have also raised eyebrows, particularly for council-aligned events. A retail stall at the two-day Pasifika Festival now costs $800. Kai costs even more; prices listed for the 2026 event range from $980 for a hangi/umu/lovo pit or food stall. Want to sell watermelon/pineapple ice cream? That will cost you $1,085 for the stall spot alone. Another annual festival, the BNZ Auckland Lantern Festival, also lists four-digit fees, with stall prices of $5,000 plus GST. (For the 2025 event, Auckland Council partnered with Auckland Night Markets for the four-night festival's food stalls.) Retail and information stall fees varied, topping out at $10,400. Surely there are cheaper markets out there? A food stall at Balmoral's Central Flea costs $70 (unpowered) and general stalls are $50; Britomart Saturday Market is similarly priced, with food and drink stall fees starting at $75, while a non-food space is $65. At Avondale Markets, prices for non-food vendors start at $25 for a casual stall. There's also a new entrant promising 'reasonable' stallholder fees; Open Circle is positioning itself as a 'community-focused market' launching later this year. Can we expect more market stories? Probably. More claims might surface on social media, and reporters are following the story. The Commerce Commission is assessing a number of concerns brought to its attention, though what happens next is as predictable as Auckland weather on market day.
NZ Herald
07-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Clown mask-wearing fugitive identified as suspect in German family murder
Meisner's body was found 600m away from the crime scene, partially underwater in a river, this week, bringing to an end a four-month-long manhunt. A firearm, possibly used to commit the murders, was found next to Meisner's remains. Detectives said that because the body was badly decomposed, the cause and exact time of death can no longer be determined. Police do not yet know if Meisner took his own life, died from injuries sustained during the crime, or whether there was another cause of death. But they do believe they have their killer. Meisner, who has been nicknamed the 'Westerwald Killer' by the German press, was believed to have fled through a window and was the focus of an international manhunt for nearly four months. Videos on social media of Meisner show him maniacally laughing behind a clown mask in a video posted online on April 26, nearly three weeks after the murders. Another video posted the same day shows him stripped to his underwear and pouring buckets of ice water over his head. It is unclear whether the TikTok account was run by Meisner himself or posted on his behalf. Meisner, a father of five, had previously spent time in prison after headbutting and stabbing his ex-wife. Overwhelming evidence points to Meisner A spokesman for Koblenz Police said: 'Since the overwhelming evidence clearly points to the person who has been sought for months as the perpetrator, and there are no indications of other perpetrators, the investigation comes to an end with the death of the only possible suspect.' Mario Mannweiler, senior public prosecutor, added: 'The fact that the whereabouts of the suspected perpetrator remained unknown for months has troubled us. 'The fact that the suspect is no longer alive was an obvious option for many reasons, but without a body, other options had to be pursued. In any case, I'm relieved that this has now come to an end.' The body was found on swampy farmland between Weitefeld and Neunkhausen in Altenkirchen, a west German district near the city of Cologne. Police had issued an arrest warrant for Meisner with a reward of up to €10,000 leading to his capture. Interpol confirmed that a Red Notice had been issued for his arrest after a request by German authorities. The notice listed his place of birth as Nowokusminka in Kazakhstan. Koblenz Police issued an arrest warrant for Meisner along with a reward of up to €10,000 ($19.5k) leading to his capture. Photo / Supplied A physical description issued by authorities described Meisner as 5ft 7in tall, weighing 75kg, of Kazakh descent, with blue-grey eyes, brown hair, scarring on his arms and face, and a tattoo on the back of his left hand that spells 'Katja' in Russian. In 2011, Meisner was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison after attempting to murder his ex-wife, Theresa. According to reports, during a heated argument 14 years ago, he headbutted her, then pulled a knife from the knife block and stabbed her in the back. Meisner is said to have run into a shed to grab a second knife and resume the attack, but was stopped by one of his sons. Asked neighbour if he could lick her Theresa managed to escape with non-life-threatening injuries. His mother, Alwina, 82, who lives in a neighbouring town to Weitefeld, said in an interview three days after the attack that her son had likely gone to ground nearby. She told Bild newspaper: 'Alexander built a house here, he has five children and ten grandchildren. He's been to prison before. I don't know what's going on in his mind. 'No, I won't let him in if he's standing at the door and ringing the bell. But I'm almost certain he's hiding somewhere nearby.' Melanie Hoechtlen, the suspect's 46-year-old neighbour, recounted being harassed by Meisner. She told Bild: 'I moved here with my husband in October 2023. I thought he deserved a second chance. He ambushed my dog and me on the path. Then he came close and asked if he could lick me. 'I reported him back then. He said he had been a lone fighter in his homeland of Kazakhstan and knew how to survive in the forest for weeks. I told the tip line that they should search the forest.' A tribute to the family published by relatives in a council newsletter in May reads: 'Incredibly incomprehensible, none of us can and will ever understand. Voices that were familiar to us are silent. 'The people who were always there are no longer here. What remains are happy memories that no one can take away from us. 'In the name of all members of the Sigismund family and the Schulze family. The funeral, with subsequent urn burials, took place in the presence of the closest family and friends.'
