After having to deal with several car crashes keeping an understaffed police force busy, police later tended a burglary incident in Vaimaanga and an assault incident on Sunday.

The police are continuing their investigations on both cases, with spokesperson, Trevor Pitt confirming that the burglary took place in Vaimaanga on Saturday night after occupants returned home after a night out and realised that their house was broken into.

Cash and tobacco were taken from the house. The incident was later reported to police late Sunday afternoon.

Regarding the assault incident, Pitt confirmed it involved two men physically assaulting each other and was reported late Sunday morning.

According to police, alcohol was involved and the incident took place at a house gathering.

Pitt also confirmed that the police are continuing their investigation into the drivers of the vehicles involved in crashes that occurred over a week ago.

There were two crashes on a Saturday morning: in one, a driver absconded from the vehicle, and in the other, the driver fled the scene.

Police found blood stains and a phone at the scene of a suspected crash near the Met Office, but no vehicle or driver was on site. The second was called in at 3.31am when a vehicle crashed near Palm Grove, Titikaveka. The driver had fled but a phone wallet ID was left at the scene, police said.

Last week, Police also had to deal with eight traffic incidents in just two days, resulting in two arrests, a string of minor injuries and thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to vehicles.

Police emphasised that Rarotonga’s road environment continues to be plagued by poor driver behaviour with carelessness and drunkenness leading the way as the main factors.

Road crashes since Thursday have included a motorcyclist collision with a dog at Ruatonga and a crash opposite the Islander Hotel. In the latter incident, on Saturday morning, a car collided with parked vehicles, and a 42-year-old male driver was arrested for drunk driving. He was remanded into prison, was expected to be bailed and is to appear in Court this week.

Two incidents occurred in the vicinity of Rarotonga International Airport, one was on late Thursday morning involving the driver of a car who failed to give way to a vehicle while turning into the airport, causing a collision.

The other on Friday night involving two motorbikes at the western exit where one driver collided with two people on another vehicle.

All these cases remain under investigation as well.