Woman who urinated on bus headed to Six60 concert could walk away unpunished

A woman who was filmed urinating on an Auckland bus destined for a Six60 concert at Western Springs may go unpunished.

On Saturday "disgusting" footage emerged of a concertgoer pulling down her pants, squatting in the doorway and urinating on a public bus packed full of passengers.

After the disturbing act she was seen standing in a pool of urine, exposing herself to passengers while trying to pull up her pants.

In footage posted to social media, the woman can be heard saying "I had to [go toilet]" before telling passengers "sorry everyone".

While the woman faces a potential $200 fine, she could go unpunished if no one formally complains.

In the Summary Offences Act 1981, it explains "every person is liable to a fine not exceeding $200 who urinates or defecates in any public place other than a public lavatory".

But if a complaint was lodged, the woman may be able to defend herself if she can prove she had reasonable grounds for believing she would not be observed, according to the legislation.

One witness said the bus stank of urine and passengers were forced to walk through it as they left the bus.

Another witness who was on the bus said while the woman's act was "disgusting", she did make numerous attempts to have the bus stopped.

"Yeah it's disgusting for sure, but she asked the driver several times if they would pull over to let her out and they said no because it wasn't a public service bus, it was a concert bus so they wouldn't stop for her.

"So to everyone saying 'she should have pushed the button and got off', she tried."

Public Transport Users Association national co-ordinator Jon Reeves slammed the act but indicated the incident was likely caused by the consumption of alcohol.

No one has yet to file a complaint.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.