Oranga Tamariki carer allegedly drops boy at 'gang pad' for being 'cheeky'

May 17, 2019

The video was posted online, with the child saying he was told “if you keep getting cheeky I’m going to send you to the pad”.

Oranga Tamariki have removed a boy from a "gang pad" after he was allegedly dropped there by a government carer.

The agency said it confirmed the boy was safe and with whanau as soon as it was alerted to the situation, and is "working to wrap as much support as possible around him and his whanau due to the attention that this is gaining on social media."

A video of the boy and a man who lived at the "pad" was posted on social media yesterday.

"My man [names boy] just got dropped off at the pad, from Tamariki ora [sic]" the man tells the camera.

"Anyway whanau, what I'm **** pissed off about is that this young fella here has been dropped off at the pad, threatened that 'if he wants to be a tough guy she's gonna drop him off at the **** pad'

"I'm not even a patch member, but, he's at my house."

The boy then confirms he was dropped there because he was getting cheeky.

"She reckons if you keep being cheeky I'm going to send you to the pad. Then she ended up turning around and taking me to the pad," he said.

In a statement Oranga Tamariki said its priority is the safety of the young person and they "are very concerned that this video identifies the boy, and mentions various names and locations openly in the recording."

"The person who posted the original video has removed it and has offered an apology.

"Young people can be vulnerable, and we strongly request that the video and the identifying factors are not broadcast further to protect the young boy's privacy and also the continued safety of him and the people involved.

"While we establish the facts, we are not in a position to comment further," the statement said.

1 NEWS has blurred the child's face to protect their identity.

The man in the video has since put up another post in which he says:

"Chur whānau bit of an update on what I posted - had to take it down so if you could ever so politely just remove the vid, personal apologies for outting your name, I was just being real young fella got picked up by his nan earlier... stay hearty whanau👌said with love [sic]," it said.

He'd used the original video to point out that young people are the country's future and that he wasn't happy with what the government carer had done.

"If you can't take the **** time, to leave people like this, and not give him some **** love or something... yeah I understand he's made mistakes in his life but he's a young fella. It's not his **** fault."

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