Neck slasher gets jail term

A Hamilton man who tried to kill a supposed love rival by slashing his neck has been jailed for eight years and nine months.

And Sameh Khalil Salem Ali has to stay behind bars for four years and four months before he becomes eligible for parole, a High Court judge has decreed.

Ali, 42, stood trial in the High Court at Hamilton in July on a charge of attempted murder in relation to the violent incident in a home in Sefton Crescent, Chartwell, on Thursday, October

20 last year.

That house was owned by Ali’s former partner Leone Zita Macwan and the two maintained a cordial relationship. At the time the incident took place, she was letting him stay there temporarily. That particular night followed an evening of drinking at which Ali, Macwan and some others were present, as was the victim, Mika Taupau. At one point Taupau went into a bedroom accompanied by Macwan.

Ali entered the darkened room and slashed the side of Taupau’s neck with a knife or some other sharp implement, inflicting a 12- to

15-centimetre gash before fleeing outside and hiding his weapon. However, he failed to cut any major blood vessels. Taupau, enraged, bleeding profusely and convinced it was Ali who had swung the knife - even though he did not directly see him confronted Ali outside the house.

Ali ran off. Taupau vented his rage on Ali’s bicycle, stomping it. Ali made his way to Macwan’s nephew’s house nearby and told those present he had cut Taupau’s throat. Not long after, he was found by a police dog unit in Ascot Road, where he told Constable Matthew Hay, his arresting officer, ‘‘What else would you do if you found him with your missus?’’

In the High Court in Hamilton on Friday, Justice Mathew Downs said the jury had rejected Ali’s argument that it must have been someone else who attacked Taupau - and with good reason.

‘‘The case against you was very strong ... I have no doubt you were trying to cut his throat. Indeed, you said [to Macwan’s nephew] you believed you had.’’

Crown prosecutor Ross Douch urged the judge to impose a sentence of nine to 10 years in prison. While Ali’s attack could not be described as frenzied, ‘‘the cold, calculating nature of this assault makes it more chilling’’, Douch said.

Ali’s counsel Tom Sutcliffe argued an eight-year starting point for the sentence was more appropriate for what was definitely ‘‘opportunistic’’ offending.

Justice Downs opted for nine years as an apt starting point. Aside from two drink-driving convictions that the judge paid no mind to, Ali had to this point lived ‘‘a largely blameless life’’ and this was worth a three-month deduction off the sentence.

‘‘You are something of a paradox,’’ Justice Downs said, noting Ali had references from five previous employers who all spoke highly of him. This offending is an aberration.’’

The judge could give no further discounts for remorse or any other reason, as Ali still claimed he had not attacked Taupau. Several times during the sentencing, Ali shook his head as Justice Downs recounted his offending - and this was not lost on the judge.

‘‘You continue to deny your offending. You have made that plain by your conduct in court.’’

Being able to apply for parole after serving a third of his sentence was not sufficient, the judge said as he sentenced Ali to eight years and nine months in jail, with a nonparole period of four years and four months.