Seventy-five-year-old Gleen Zhang came to the aid of an Auckland teenager who was being attacked with a metal rod on Friday. Photo: Supplied
The police are appealing for witnesses after a 16-year-old student was assaulted on public transport and left with severe facial injuries in East Auckland on Friday.
Jason, who spoke on condition of using his first name to protect his privacy, was taking a bus from near Highland Park to Panmure to play basketball with some friends.
The high school student was the victim of an unprovoked attack by an unknown woman with a metal rod who started beating him while yelling racist slurs.
He suffered severe facial injuries, including three missing teeth and a further three teeth that were later found to be damaged during the assault.
A 75-year-old passenger intervened to stop the attack near Williams Ave in Pakuranga, Jason said.
The woman disembarked the bus a short time later and fled the scene.
An Auckland teenager suffered severe facial injuries after being attacked with a metal rod by an unknown woman on a bus on Friday. Photo: Supplied
Jason called the police, shaken by the experience.
"It's quite scary looking back as there was a wound just under my eyes," he said. "If it was a bit up, I could be blind. If it's a knife ... our lives could be in danger."
Jason said the driver didn't stop the bus to assist him after the attack, continuing along the planned route.
His mother, Sally Wang, expressed anger about the attack on her son.
A dentist had told her that implants might only be able to be placed after Jason had turned 20, by which time his jaw bones were fully grown.
"The harm caused to him is irreparable," she said. "The damage is not only physical, but emotional.
"He is such a positive and outgoing child. He always believes in others and cares about others. He has served as a volunteer basketball referee for his school for two years. He is so willing to help others but suffered from this."
The metal rod used in an attack on an Auckland teenager in a bus. Photo: Supplied
Gleen Zhang, the 75-year-old man who came to Jason's aid on the bus, questioned how responsible bus drivers were in such incidents.
"If this keeps happening, will students dare to take buses in future?" he asked.
A statement from the police said the victim was travelling on a bus heading from Howick towards central Auckland along Pakuranga Road about 9.15am on Friday.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant James Mapp, Counties Manukau East CIB, said an unknown woman hopped on the bus before assaulting the victim with an object.
"This was an unprovoked assault, which left the victim with serious facial injuries. The offender has alighted from the bus prior to police arrival," Mapp said.
"We understand the fear and concern events like this inflict on the community and we will continue to pursue every lead to hold this person to account."
Asked if the attack was racially motivated, the police said they were working to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this incident.
They asked people with information to contact the police.
An Auckland Transport spokesperson said the operator was aware of the incident and had provided video footage to police.
"We were sorry to hear about this horrible incident," the spokesperson said. "The safety of everyone who uses our transport network and facilities is our top priority."
Auckland Transport did not wish to comment on claims the driver failed to assist Jason after the attack but said it had since been in touch with the victim.