League player ‘king-hit’ pair
A prominent Nelson rugby league player ‘‘king hit’’ two rugby union players in an unprovoked bar attack.
Joseph Kaipo, 26, was in the Nelson District Court for sentencing on Friday, after being found guilty of five counts of assault.
Kaipo, who has represented both Tasman and the South Island in rugby league, pleaded guilty to three of the charges, and was found guilty on two counts of injuring with intent to injure at a jury trial in August.
Judge Peter Rollo said the first incident took place at a nightclub in Nelson on the evening of the April 2, 2017.
Several members of the Marist Rugby Club were having a beer while celebrating a victory in a match earlier in the day.
Rollo said the men were wearing their club jerseys and not misbehaving in any way when Kaipo, who had been drinking, launched an unprovoked attack on two of the players.
The judge said Kaipo delivered a ‘‘king hit, also known as a coward punch’’ to the back of both men’s heads, knocking them unconscious.
After being ejected from the club, Kaipo got into another altercation outside.
A third member of the Marist team tried to break up the fight, and was then head-butted by Kaipo.
At the trial Kaipo had argued he was acting in self-defence after being assaulted, but Rollo said ‘‘no witnesses agreed with you and neither did the jury.’’
The second incident occurred in February 2018, after a confrontation between two large groups at the Buxton Square car park in Nelson.
Kaipo, who was on bail at the time, reacted to what he said was a slur and punched a man in the chest.
He then rushed the group and as he ran past, punched an innocent bystander who was looking in the other direction.
Rollo said Kaipo’s behaviour was ‘‘astounding’’, particularly because police were at the scene.
Crown prosecutor Jamie Crawford said a prison sentence was warranted over home detention, due to the seriousness of the attacks and the lasting impacts on the victim’s lives.
Defence lawyer Wayne Jones argued for home detention, and said Kaipo was genuinely remorseful and was actively seeking to address his alcohol and violence issues.
Rollo said while the victims of the offending may not think the sentence was severe enough, the remorse shown by Kaipo and the positive changes he had made since, including volunteering for a church, did not warrant a prison sentence.
Rollo sentenced Kaipo to 12 months home detention, 200 hours of community work, and a total of $3250 in emotional harm repayments.
He also sentenced Kaipo to 12 months of judicial monitoring.