Man charged with assaulting woman on busy Auckland road pleads not guilty

A man charged with assaulting a woman on Auckland’s Karangahape Road in January has pleaded not guilty.

A duty lawyer appeared on behalf of 53-year-old Sarbjit Singh in the Auckland District Court this morning, to make the plea.

Attention was drawn to the case after the alleged victim stripped naked and covered herself in fake blood along the busy street last month to protest how her complaint to authorities was handled.

In a statement police admitted their investigation "could have been handled better".

Jazmine Phillips was walking down the street with her partner on January 21 when Mr Singh allegedly exited his vehicle and started hitting her in the back of the head.

On February 8, the 26-year-old stripped down in protest.

Ms Phillips stood hand-in-hand with friend Kyah Dove covered in fake blood, over a sign asking, "Do women have to be dead before police respond to violence?"

In a statement, police said, "We have reviewed the procedures and processes around this report, and accept that in this case, it could have been handled better.

"Police want to reassure the public that incidents of this nature are treated seriously and are investigated appropriately."

Mr Singh will next appear in court in May.

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