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A young woman has spoken out after her drink was allegedly spiked at a NSW nightclub.
Demi Parkinson, 22, was at an end-of-year celebration with her friends at Newcastle’s Finnegan’s Hotel on Friday night when she says she started chatting with a group of men.
One of the men offered her a drink.
“They were really nice at the time, I didn’t think anything of it”, Parkinson said.
“Unfortunately, I took the drink.”
Shortly after drinking it, Parkinson’s friends noticed she was surrounded by the men and slipping in and out of consciousness.
The men then allegedly picked her up and dragged her out of the pub before her friends intervened.
“It could’ve ended a lot worse if my friends weren’t there” Parkinson said.
Paramedics attended the Darby Street pub around 2.30am on Saturday where they treated Parkinson for a possible spiking and took her to the Calvary Mater Hospital.
It wasn’t until a few hours later that she woke up, completely unaware of what had happened.
“I had no clue of what had happened or where I was,” she said.
While Parkinson was blacked out, her friend, Sarah Williams, tried to seek help.
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She says she approached the hotel’s security staff but claims there was a lack of action.
One of the guards then allegedly became aggressive with Williams.
“This security guard then turned around, pulled his security badge to the ground and said, ‘I’m going to knock her out’, Williams said.
“(He) proceeded to punch a pole right next to us and storm across the road.”
Parkinson says it’s the second time this year she’d had her drink spiked at the venue.
“I was also spiked in May and was convulsing,” she told 9News.
The security contractor in question has been stood down while the investigation takes place.
“Finnegan’s Hotel takes its responsibility to provide a safe environment for patrons and staff seriously, and proactively works with authorities to create a safer Newcastle. It appears that the actions of a security contractor were not in line with Finnegan’s Hotel’s values and expectations, and they have been stood down whilst the investigation takes place,” the hotel said.
“We always acknowledge that there is more we can do, and will be reviewing our procedures, plan of management and induction documents this week to continue to improve.
“Anyone with details on specific events that should be brought to our attention is encouraged to contact us via direct message or email so that we can take the appropriate action.”
Newcastle Police say they’re aware of the matter.
