Jailed woman walked out front door of courthouse

A woman escaped being sent to jail from a court in West Auckland, New Zealand, on Monday afternoon by simply walking out the front door.

The woman was being sentenced in Courtroom Three at Waitakere District Court at about 2.30pm when, upon hearing she would be jailed on charges relating to dishonesty offending, she simply walked out of the sentencing box and out the front door, a witness who was in the courtroom at the time said.



"The judge said 'someone stop that woman' and she just kept on going," the witness, who declined to be named, said. "It's quite embarrassing for them really." No police or court security staff were in the courtroom at the time, however a lawyer attempted to apprehend the woman, only to be pushed aside, the witness said.

Court security were not believed to have been monitoring the court's entrance at the time the woman escaped. Court security staff declined to comment on the incident. A police spokeswoman said the woman had still not been located. She was described as a "low risk" offender.