'I'm wild, I'm angry': Family of Waihi man robbed as he lay dying speak out

The family of a Henry Pere, whose wallet was stolen as he lay dying on a street in Waihi, said they were angry and shocked.

"Who does that?" said Mr Pere's nephew, William Pere.

"I'm wild. I'm angry. I'll probably never get rid of that feeling. I've got no sympathy. I'll never forgive [the thief]."

In a bizarre twist, one of the people who tried to help save the dying man was later wanted by police in relation to the incident.

Mr Pere, 61, was a beloved brother and uncle and his relatives say he loved a laugh.

"He's always been kind to everyone, no matter what sort of help," said William.

Last week, like he did every Wednesday, Mr Pere withdrew his wages at his local bank on the main street in Waihi. He bought a scratchie and jumped in his car to grab some takeaways.

Mr Pere then suffered an aneurysm and several people came to his aid.

"He was put on the ground in the recovery position," said William.

One of the men who helped make him comfortable then ran to the information centre to get a defibrillator.

The man then did the unthinkable. As Mr Pere lay dying on the street, it's alleged the man stole his wallet.

Mr Pere's father, Jack, was upset, but had some sympathy for the suspect.

"What drove him to so desperately take a dying man's money?"

Mr Pere died in hospital later that day. He was laid to rest this week.

Inside his wallet was his biker's licence - something he was immensely proud of. The family had wanted to bury him with it.

"Riding was him," said William. "I hate to say it but it was a little bit more important than all of us in the end. It was him and his bike and on the road."

Having the biker's licence taken had also rubbed salt in an old wound. The family said Mr Pere had been left heartbroken when his beloved Harley-Davidson was stolen a year ago.

"Then this happening with his wallet and things like that, that's what makes me so angry as well," said William.

"I don't think Uncle Henry deserved anything like that because he had never ever hurt anybody."

Police said a 24-year-old Napier man had been charged with theft. He'll appear in the district court in Waihi on November 8.

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