R v Turaki [2017] NZDC 4236 (28 February 2017)

Last Updated: 19 June 2017

EDITORIAL NOTE: PERSONAL/COMMERCIAL DETAILS ONLY HAVE BEEN DELETED.

IN THE DISTRICT COURT AT AUCKLAND

CRI-2016-004-007228 [2017] NZDC 4236

THE QUEEN

v

_{ARITOKA TURAKI}

Hearing:	28 February 2017
Appearances:	H Dymond-Cate for the Crown D Schellenberg for the Defendant
Judgment:	28 February 2017

_{NOTES OF JUDGE R J COLLINS ON SENTENCING}

[10] Mr Turaki, you are for sentence on a charge of injuring with intent to injure and a charge of what is known as aggravated drink-driving. That is driving with an excess breath alcohol level on a third or subsequent occasion and you did that when you were also disqualified from driving.

[11] The facts of your offending are these, that on 17 July last year in the very early hours of the morning, in fact quarter to four, you were at a bar in inner-city Auckland. The victim was there as well. You approached the victim who you did not know. You gestured as if you were to shake hands and then, showing disregard for the safety of the victim, you punched him with a closed fist. That punch knocked the victim out and he fell to the ground. You fled from the scene but you were

_{located by the police approximately 100 metres away.}

R v ARITOKA TURAKI [2017] NZDC 4236 [28 February 2017]

[12] The victim suffered the following injures: he suffered what is described as traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage, bleeding in the area of the skull; he suffered concussion and plus a scalp wound.

[13] Separately from that, on 30 October last year, you were the driver of a Honda motor vehicle on State Highway 1. It was at 5.22 pm in the evening. You were stopped by the police for exceeding the limit. Enquiries revealed you were disqualified and, when spoken to, you exhibited signs of recent alcohol intake. You underwent the breath testing procedures and you returned an evidential breath alcohol result of 805 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

[14] Mr Turaki, as has already been discussed, you have a lengthy list of previous convictions. That list of previous convictions contains the following factors in some degree of prominence: firstly, the number of convictions for violence; secondly, the number of drink-driving convictions; and also generally your noncompliance with community-based sentences or Court-imposed conditions.

[15] In deciding today, from an indicated sentence of two years’ imprisonment, whether or not you get the benefit of a discretion to sentence you to home detention those factors would strongly operate against an electronically-monitored outcome. However, as I have just indicated to Mr Schellenberg, you have just completed a sentence of supervision and the probation officer has given you a very positive report in that regard and, secondly, the Probation Service urge upon me not to send you to prison which they would see as having a negative impact at this stage in terms of your rehabilitation.

[16] At the sentencing indication I indicated the starting point for the violence, and it was a nasty piece of street thuggery, Mr Turaki, from a man who is a very powerful man, that the minimum starting point there was two years’ imprisonment. For the driving matters the uplift would be one year, combining both the disqualified driving and the drink-driving. From that three years starting point you will be entitled to a two month discount for the matters which were personal to you and members of your family and the challenges that you face there, particularly with your parents. In addition I was satisfied that your efforts at rehabilitation at that

point warranted a two month credit and an eight month credit for your guilty plea. So all those matters apply today. That takes me, as I said, to two years.

[17] I am prepared to impose home detention. The term of home detention, rather than being converted to the usual half of the amount of prison time will, in fact instead of being 12 months, be nine months’ home detention. But also on all these matters you are sentenced to 200 hours’ community work. That will at least give you the advantage of during the next nine months that you will able to get some time away from your detention address and do something positive. In addition, on the driving matters you are disqualified from holding and obtaining a driver’s licence for one year and one day and that applies from today, 28 February.

[18] Turning to the conditions which apply to home detention, they are as recommended by the probation officer who wrote the report. There are six of them. In addition they will apply for 12 months. Conditions number 2 to 6 will apply for

12 months after the detention expiry date. So after the sentence of home detention finishes the last five conditions apply for another 12 months. Those conditions are;

(a) The first one is that you are to travel directly to [address deleted] and await the arrival of the security guard to put in place the electronic monitoring equipment.

(b) Secondly, you are to attend an assessment for alcohol and drug programme as directed by the probation officer. You are to attend and complete any counselling, treatment or programme as recommended by the assessment, as directed by and to the satisfaction of the probation officer.

[19] I just interpose there, Mr Turaki, is that you have already completed supervision. Some of these matters may well have been addressed during that sentence but, as we all know, people who have alcohol and drug issues to confront, ongoing maintenance programmes and courses are incredibly valuable. You will find that the Probation Service will have no enthusiasm to reinvent the wheel and have you do things that you have already done, but I am sure that they will put in

place, as I say, maintenance programmes if they are satisfied you have already done the appropriate courses.

(c) Thirdly you are to attend and complete an appropriate anger management programme to the satisfaction of the probation officer. Again, the specific details of the appropriate programme are to be determined by the probation officer.

(d) You are to attend and complete any other appropriate programme to the satisfaction of a probation officer and, again, the details of the appropriate programme shall be determined by the probation officer.

(e) During the term of home detention and post-detention conditions you are not to possess, consume or use any alcohol or drugs not prescribed to you.

(f) Finally, you are not to associate with or contact the victim of your offending without the prior written approval of the probation officer.

ADDENDUM:

[20] You are currently disqualified. That does not end until 5 May. What parliament has said is when I have to disqualify you, which I do, that has got to start after the current disqualification finishes. So you are disqualified for a year and a day and that starts on 6 May 2017.

[21] You are also subject to s 65B Land Transport Act 1998. What that means is that when your disqualification finishes you will be an unlicensed driver. At that stage you have to get a licence, you have to apply for a zero alcohol licence and then until you apply for and get that licence you will be an unlicensed driver and cannot drive.

[22] Finally there will be a warning to be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle you were driving when you were disqualified giving them a warning should that situation happen again, in terms of their vehicle being driven by a disqualified driver, they risk having the vehicle confiscated.

R J Collins

District Court Judge