Bullied and frustrated Kiwi taxman drives car through workplace windows...
August 19th 2009 03:16
'Bullied' and frustrated Kiwi taxman drives car through workplace windows...
A Christchurch, NZ, tax department employee smashed his car through his own Inland Revenue office because he was fed up with "incompetent management and workplace bullying".
David Jerrold Theobald, 47, drove through two sets of glass doors and smashed a third at the Christchurch Inland Revenue building before coming to a stop.
Mr Theobald, a well-known musician in Christchurch who has worked for the IRD for 25 years, said he had been careful not to put lives in danger.
"I checked with the cleaners the night before to make sure no-one would be in the building," he told The Dominion Post.
"I drove right up to the doors, looked both ways, then slowly pushed forward till the doors broke."
Mr Theobald posted pictures of the damage on his blog , along with copies of legal documents he received from police and his employer following the incident.
One of the documents was a letter from Inland Revenue human resources head Patrick Crawford.
"Information has come to my attention which indicates that you may have intentionally driven a car through Inland Revenue's Christchurch building," Mr Crawford wrote.
"I am concerned that your conduct may be inconsistent with the Code of Conduct."
Mr Theobald said he was upset with what he saw as workplace bullying and incompetent management at Inland Revenue.
"This has been going on for three years and now I've got four official information requests in with them and they're making that as onerous as possible," he said.
"This was just a way to make a gesture."
He also said he wanted to highlight the potential for a terrorist attack if someone were to drive a car full of explosives into the building.
"It's just another 9/11 waiting to happen," he said.
Mr Theobald appeared in court yesterday. He has been charged with intentional damage and reckless driving and could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty of criminal damage.
Acknowledgements: MSN NZ
A Christchurch, NZ, tax department employee smashed his car through his own Inland Revenue office because he was fed up with "incompetent management and workplace bullying".
David Jerrold Theobald, 47, drove through two sets of glass doors and smashed a third at the Christchurch Inland Revenue building before coming to a stop.
Mr Theobald, a well-known musician in Christchurch who has worked for the IRD for 25 years, said he had been careful not to put lives in danger.
"I checked with the cleaners the night before to make sure no-one would be in the building," he told The Dominion Post.
"I drove right up to the doors, looked both ways, then slowly pushed forward till the doors broke."
Mr Theobald posted pictures of the damage on his blog , along with copies of legal documents he received from police and his employer following the incident.
One of the documents was a letter from Inland Revenue human resources head Patrick Crawford.
"Information has come to my attention which indicates that you may have intentionally driven a car through Inland Revenue's Christchurch building," Mr Crawford wrote.
"I am concerned that your conduct may be inconsistent with the Code of Conduct."
Mr Theobald said he was upset with what he saw as workplace bullying and incompetent management at Inland Revenue.
"This has been going on for three years and now I've got four official information requests in with them and they're making that as onerous as possible," he said.
"This was just a way to make a gesture."
He also said he wanted to highlight the potential for a terrorist attack if someone were to drive a car full of explosives into the building.
"It's just another 9/11 waiting to happen," he said.
Mr Theobald appeared in court yesterday. He has been charged with intentional damage and reckless driving and could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty of criminal damage.
Acknowledgements: MSN NZ
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