A suspect believed to be linked to the robbery of Ngāruawāhia Golf Club has been filmed fleeing police on a golf cart in a dramatic, low-speed car chase.
A police patrol car was captured pursuing the cart in a fleeting chase across the footpaths of a Ngāruawāhia neighbourhood on Sunday.
Footage uploaded to Facebook, which has since been shared almost 2000 times, shows the suspect driving the cart along the pavement of Jackson St before veering onto the road. The police vehicle can be seen tailing the cart at a crawling pace across the berms.
"Only in Ngā," the man captured the video jokingly.
It's understood the incident is linked to an overnight robbery of the Ngāruawāhia Golf Club on Saturday.
In a Facebook post, the club revealed that two of EZGO RXV golf carts and two chargers had been stolen from its shed.
"Please share around and hopefully we will get them back... please keep an eye out on any social media pages for people trying to sell these carts or the batteries separate," the post reads.
The Golf Club's general manager, Peter Arndell, confirmed to Stuff that a window of the locked shed was smashed during the break-in. It appears the culprits jimmied the carts' ignitions.
In an update shared to social media on Sunday afternoon, the Ngāruawāhia Golf Club confirmed the carts have been recovered.
"Many thanks to the local neighbourhood for their vigilance and support [in] apprehending the culprits," it said in a comment.
One of the carts had been dumped down a bank by the Waikato River, according to Stuff.
Arndell told the outlet that despite the equipment being covered by insurance, the club will suffer losses due to covering the shed's repairs and its inability to rent the carts.
In a statement issued on Monday, Waikato road policing manager Jeff Penno said authorities believe the golf cart was stolen in the weekend burglary.
"The rider of the cart failed to stop for police when signalled to do so. Police followed the vehicle at low speed until a member of the public intervened, at which time the rider fled on foot," Penno explained.
"While the patrol car briefly followed the cart onto a footpath, speeds were low and there was no one else in the vicinity."
Penno says the abandoned golf cart was undamaged when it was located by officers. A second stolen cart was also recovered, he confirmed.
Enquiries are ongoing to locate the offender, who is now known to police.
