A drunk man has punched and kicked a man in central Dunedin, in an unprovoked attack that police say was racially motivated.
The incident unfolded at the bus hub, opposite the Dunedin Central Police Station, on Monday about 8.15pm, Senior Sergeant Anthon Bond said.
A man had been sitting at the bus hub when he was approached by an intoxicated 27-year-old who started to abuse him verbally.
The man then started ‘’throwing punches and kicking the victim’', with the attack briefly stopped by patrolling city safety officers.
However, the man continued the attack, and tried to flee the scene on foot but was located by police.
The man was charged with injuring with intent to injure and will appear in the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday.
Bond confirmed the men were not known to each other with the attack appearing to be ‘’racially motivated’'.
It is the latest incident at the bus hub, since it opened in March 2019.
That included a a girl kicking a disabled man in the head, and teenage boys fighting each other, in videos shared with Stuff.
Those incidents led to the Otago Regional Council (ORC) quietly introducing security into the area, as well as ‘on-bus’.
The council voted to continue funding the security trial to June 30 2024, at a cost of $126,000.