A woman has died in New Zealand after escaping from the boot of a car, bound, gagged, covered in blood and frothing at the mouth.

Witnesses have described seeing the woman, named by police as Jindarat Prutsiriporn, fall from the boot of a white sedan on a busy street in South Auckland at about 7pm on Tuesday.

Her arms and legs were bound with rope, she had material stuffed in her mouth as a gag, as well as a man’s tie knotted around her neck. She was unresponsive to people who came to her aid and medical services.

Four people witnessed the incident, and one tried to pursue the fleeing vehicle but was unable to take down the registration number of the car.

Witness Jay Shay told Radio New Zealand he was putting his bins out when he saw the woman “drop or leap” out of the boot.



“My first instinct was to rush towards it. When I went there I saw this lady lying on the road, on her back, and she was frothing in her mouth and her legs and hands were tied up.”

“She was bleeding from her nose, and there was a metal rod next to her. My immediate reaction was it was a kind of kidnapping or something, and she was able to get herself free.”

Shay said he undid the tie around her neck because the woman was “unable to breath”. The 50-year-old Thai woman, who lives in Auckland, died on Wednesday night.

Police were unable to speak to her, but they have been in contact with her family.

Police said they were “satisfied” the kidnapping was not a domestic incident, and were exploring possible connections with organised crime.

“We are keeping an open mind as to the motivation behind her kidnapping, however an obvious line of inquiry will involve links to organised crime.” New Zealand police said.

The New Zealand Herald reported that detectives investigating the incident were looking into organised crime groups, including Asian gangs, and that the woman had links to the criminal underworld.