Call for law change after ‘coward’ king-hits
Violence on the first weekend of alert level 1 has sparked a call for immediate law change, after two men were king-hit and hospitalised in Auckland.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, two separate king-hit or ‘‘coward punch’’ incidents led to two young men being rushed to hospital – one unconscious for 15 minutes.
That victim is now calling for the Coward Punch Causing Death bill to pushed through with immediate effect, as he struggles with the after effects of his attack.
‘‘I’m not great to be honest. I have been concussed before but never like this, they [the attackers] are probably doing this to other people and are going to kill someone,’’ the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
At around 3am on Sunday morning, the man and a friend were walking in the CBD, when a group of around six men surrounded them. The group circled the pair, before the victim was king-hit from the side and left unconscious on the concrete, where he remained unresponsive for 15 minutes.
‘‘Obviously I don’t remember any of it, which is almost better to be honest,’’ he said. ‘‘My mate who saw it happen, and obviously remembers it all, is pretty shaken up – he thought I died.’’
The pair were then ‘‘kicked and stomped’’ repeatedly before their attackers fled the scene and emergency services were called. Police are obtaining CCTV footage and no arrests have been made. The victim suffered a severe concussion and major swelling to his jaw, and is due to see a head injury specialist. Currently, there is no specific crime related to king-hits. But National MP Matt King is pushing for his Coward Punch Causing Death bill to be passed as soon as possible. It is going through its first reading of Parliament.
King, a former police officer, is hopeful of his bill progressing, but felt the current Government would likely vote it down. ‘‘This bill was drawn in September 2018, so in theory it should have been dealt with much sooner than this which gives me reason to suspect it won’t go much further,’’ King said.
In 2014, Australia’s Government of Victoria introduced the Coward’s Punch Manslaughter Law, which carries a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence. King’s bill carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but no mandatory minimum sentence.