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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Chris Shone was 16 when
he entered the cadet training school at Waiouru in 1968 with the dream of
being in the Army. His dream was shattered
when he realised he could no longer tolerate brutal assaults inflicted by
cadet non-commissioned officers (NCOs) a couple of years his senior and
decided to escape. "The only way I
thought I could get out of that place was by going AWOL [absent without leave],"
he said. After running away
several times, he was court martialled. He was told he had two
choices: pay $50 and receive an honourable discharge, or pay nothing and get
a dishonourable discharge. He paid the $50. Mr Shone said he was
the victim of at least six beatings by NCOs in his 10 months at Waiouru. Each one left him with
severe bruising. He said the NCOs never
hit him in the face or places where marks would be visible to officers in
charge. Now 54 and living in
Tauranga, the semi-retired courier driver said the violence left him
struggling to cope. "It screwed up my
life for a while after I got out," he said. Unable to trust anyone,
he turned to alcohol and ended up in prison for burglary and car theft. The worst incident he
witnessed was a "scrubbing down" in the showers. He said more than 20
cadets were ordered to watch as four NCOs shoved a boy into a boiling shower
and scrubbed him with yard brooms. "You can imagine
the mess a yard broom would make on his back." The NCOs then pushed
the boy into a cold shower, leaving him there for less than a minute before
forcing him back under the hot water. "This went on three or four
times." Mr Shone never saw the
boy again but believed he was hospitalised and that his parents removed him
from the school when they found out what happened. He said the two
ringleaders in the attack were court martialled at Ardmore. Mr Shone said the NCOs
singled the boy, himself and others out as victims and would set on them in
packs. "It felt as though
it took your manhood away. It wasn't one-on-one. It was six-on-one." He never spoke about
what happened to anyone. "I thought it would just die with me." He was "bloody
excited" that Ian Fraser had decided to go public. "I was glad he
had the guts to do something about it." Mr Shone said he would
testify in an inquiry.
How
the story unfolded this week
* Ian Fraser's account
of alleged brutality and cover-ups at the Waiouru regular force cadet school
is posted on the internet by the news agency Scoop. * Mr Fraser, a former
Army communications officer who lives in Perth, issues a press release headed
"Victims of army cadet school violence sought".
* The Herald carries a report,
which is picked up in other media. On Radio Pacific, a number of callers say
they were victims of abuse at Waiouru. Mr Fraser is interviewed on TVOne's
Holmes show.
* The Herald reports
that Defence Minister Mark Burton has ordered an urgent inquiry into the
allegations. * Auckland man Eric
West tells the Herald that he spent a week in hospital in 1964 after a
beating at Waiouru. * The brothers of Grant
Bain, who was fatally shot at Waiouru in 1981, claim the Army covered up the
truth behind his death. The Herald is
investigating the alleged Waiouru abuse. |
