A man who held a woman at knifepoint at a South Auckland mall has pleaded guilty.
Police standing guard outside Westfield mall in Manukau while hostage negotiations were carried out, in November last year. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The 30-year-old man, from Papakura, appeared at Manukau District Court this morning.
He was arrested and charged on 9 November, after holding a knife to a woman's throat in the foodcourt at Manukau's Westfield.
Police negotiated with the man in the Westfield food court. Photo: Supplied to RNZ
Police negotiated with the man for 40 minutes before he dropped the knife and released the woman, who he did not know. She was unharmed.
The man will be sentenced in April.