Owner of dogs that mauled two-year-old boy sentenced
The attack occurred when the child was playing in his front yard and two American Bulldogs roamed onto the child's Auckland property in March 2024.
Unprovoked, they attacked him, leaving him with several serious injuries to his neck and head along with a fractured shoulder blade. He required multiple surgeries and a prolonged hospital stay, Auckland Council said.
"Despite heroic efforts by bystanders and the victim's mother, who physically lifted her child to safety, the dogs continued to attack."
Auckland Council said CCTV footage captured the brutal maulings, which only ended when relatives of the owners forcibly removed the dogs.
The council commenced a criminal prosecution against the owner on July 30, 2024, laying two charges for owning dogs that had attacked a person.
Last week, the dog's owner, Janna Faumui, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 hours of community work and a $2000 fine in emotional reparation to the victim's family.
Judge Moala decided imprisonment was inappropriate for this case, given Faumui's lack of criminal history.
Chair of Auckland Council's regulatory and safety committee Josephine Bartley said dog owners must understand their responsibilities.
'It is not OK for dogs to be roaming or uncontrolled. The trauma and injuries inflicted on this child were horrific and entirely preventable,' Bartley said.
Auckland Council's general manager of licensing and compliance, Robert Irvine, commended the bravery of the bystanders during the attack but said no one should have to witness such violence, "especially a parent".
Irvine said the council has increased the number of Animal Management Officers in high-risk areas but warned "dog owners to take responsibility for their dogs".
Both of the dogs that attacked the boy were voluntarily surrendered and were euthanised.
"One moment of negligence can result in a lifetime of pain," Irvine added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trial date set for former funeral director accused of improper handling of human remains
Waikumete Cemetery. Photo: J E McGowan / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr A trial date has been set for a second former Auckland funeral director, whose name is suppressed. The name suppression and other matters will be argued at a pre-trial hearing on 25 November 2025. The former funeral director , who appeared in court on Tuesday, had earlier pleaded not guilty to charges related to the improper handling of human remains at Waikumete Cemetery, the largest in New Zealand and one of 53 run by Auckland Council. The court has ordered that any pre-trial applications must be filed by 3 November, with responses due by 17 November. A five-day jury trial is scheduled to begin on 8 June 2026. Bail for the defendant and name suppression for the complainants will continue until the November hearing. Waikumete Cemetery was also the site of previous offences involving former funeral director Fiona Bakulich , who was arrested in October 2024 during Operation Lola. She was sentenced in April 2025 . LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- NZ Herald
Rupa's Cafe in Freemans Bay gets ticking off from Auckland Council for trading without licence
However, officials from Auckland Council launched an investigation this week after it emerged the cafe had reopened and begun trading without a valid food licence. On Friday last week, a Herald worker spotted an 'Open' sign outside the cafe and freshly baked food in the cabinet, with at least six customers in the shop. Fresh food was displayed in a cabinet when a Herald worker visited Rupa's Cafe on Friday. An open sign was displayed outside the cafe's door on Friday last week. A council food inspector was dispatched to the business on Tuesday but it appeared to be shut. 'Since the food registration for Rupa's Cafe at 103 Wellington St, Freemans Bay was cancelled in June 2025, the council has received no subsequent application for a new food registration for a cafe or other food business at that address,' the council's team leader for Environmental Health Response, Alan Ahmu, said. 'We were unaware of the alleged reopening of a cafe at the address.' Following Tuesday's visit, the council said an inspector would make another visit in the next two days. Rupa's Cafe owner, Dilip Rupa. Photo / Dean Purcell In a statement yesterday afternoon, Ahmu said a food safety officer had now made contact with the cafe. The operator 'now has an awareness of the registration requirement, has ceased trading and advises they will not trade again unless they are registered', Ahmu told the Herald. Selling food without a licence can still carry penalties, the council confirmed. The maximum penalty upon conviction for an individual is a fine not exceeding $50,000, and for a body corporate is a fine not exceeding $200,000. The cafe appears to be closed today, with calls to business going unanswered this morning. Cafe and owner have colourful backstory Rupa, a controversial figure in Auckland's hospitality scene, has had run-ins with Auckland Council and WorkSafe over unpaid property taxes and compliance violations. Rupa was the first person to be prosecuted by WorkSafe for failing to display Covid-19 QR codes during the pandemic. 'My main objection to the QR code is no one knows what the coding is … there's no security and there's no knowledge of where this QR coding is going," Rupa told the Herald at the time. He was ultimately fined $1500 after a 2022 trial was held in his absence, with Judge Stephen Bonnar, KC, ruling Rupa 'held strong views' about the legality of the provisions and made an intentional choice not to comply. Rupa's Cafe started out as a general store, 72 years ago. Photo / Michael Craig The Rupa family also defied paying the rates on their Freemans Bay cafe and two Grey Lynn private homes over several years in a bitter stand-off with the council. With the combined unpaid rates bill on their properties growing to $350,000 by 2021, the council began court proceedings to try to recoup the missed payments. In September last year, the Herald revealed the outstanding rates and associated penalties had ballooned to a record $876,623.65 - $662,179.06 for the cafe and $214,444.59 for the family home – leading the council to pursue a forced sale of the Rupa family's properties. The council struck a last-minute deal with the Rupa family over the bill in April, although the details of it remain protected under confidentiality obligations. Opened 72 years ago by Rupa's parents as a general store, Rupa's Cafe built a loyal base of customers over the years as a Freemans Bay institution. The neighbourhood cafe was known for its coffee and chai, serving up a mix of Indian dishes – including what Cuisine's Ginny Grant called 'some of the best samosas in Auckland'.
RNZ News
28-07-2025
- RNZ News
Disproportionately high rate of homeless women in NZ
People working with Auckland's homeless are warning that there is a disproportionately high rate of women without shelter in New Zealand, concentrated in Auckland. Tomorrow, Auckland Council's Community Committee will discuss the region's homelessness crisis and a report showing the number of homeless people rose to 809 in May this year, a 90% increase since last September. Amy Williams reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
