Queenstown police are investigating after allegations of a racist incident outside Fergbaker at the weekend in the resort town.
Sergeant Steve Watt said a woman from Australia had hot coffee thrown over her when she challenged another female for making derogatory “Asian tourist” comments.
He appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident, outside Fergbaker on Shotover Street, to come forward. Racist incidents would not be tolerated, he added.
The 30-year-old victim, who was standing with a friend, was part of a pub crawl when two women tried to push passed them at 12.30am on Sunday morning.
“One woman was overheard making some racist comments. The victim approached the female and said, ‘you can’t say this’. The two subsequently got aggressive and poured the drink over her head, face and clothes.”
The pair had already left the scene when police arrived.
Sgt Watt said police would be reviewing video footage this morning.
“Queenstown is a tourist destination and we host a number of different nationalities. Racist behaviour will not be tolerated and we will continue to investigate this incident.”
