Three other deckhands, apparently present during incident, were not called as witnesses.
In a Maritime New Zealand incident report, the boat's owner Jason Lee said he was made aware of the allegation by another crew member and contacted the deckhand on board.
When he asked what happened, the deckhand said, “I don't know boss”, and told him that everything was calm and he wanted to keep fishing.
Now working out of Australia, the deckhand gave his evidence in court via AV-link from Newcastle, assisted by an interpreter here.
The complainant said he mostly enjoyed a good working relationship with his skipper of about four months before the incident on August 10 last year.
After breakfast that day, the skipper confronted him, accusing him of stealing the ship's bacon ration and throwing it overboard.
The bacon was to be breakfast for the skipper and two other crew members for the next two days.
The complainant and one other Indonesian deckhand are Muslim and do not eat pork for religious reasons.
Williams, swearing and irate, shoulder-barged him to the ground, then kicked him twice in the head and once in the back, the complainant alleged.
Williams picked up a knife and banged it on his chest, looking at him as he did so. The deckhand said he was scared he would be stabbed so he got back up and continued working.
He claimed Williams told him not to bother reporting the incident because “this is my country” and he would not win any dispute.
Later that day, the complainant photographed his swollen face.
His Indonesian shipmate contacted the boat's owner.
The vessel returned to Gisborne the following night as scheduled.
The boat's owner collected him and put him up that night in a motel. He saw a doctor the next day, who told him his nose was broken, not to work for a week and that he might need surgery.
The deckhand said he also went to police. Photographs of his injuries were produced in evidence.
Prosecutor David Walker asked him whether there was any truth in Williams' accusation that he stole the bacon.
The deckhand said no and that he would not touch bacon as it disgusted him.
There was no interpreter when he previously reported the incident.
In cross-examination, counsel Leighvi Maynard put it to the deckhand that Williams and the vessel's owner each spoke with him a month earlier about dangerous fishing practices, specifically luring birds to the boat.
The deckhand would have been afraid of getting another black mark, which could have resulted in his pay being docked and him being kicked off the boat, Mr Maynard said.
The deckhand denied it, saying he did not know of any black mark and felt secure in his job as he had a contract with the boat's owner.
The officer in charge of the case read Williams' police statement in evidence.
In it, Williams said he would never hurt anyone and that the deckhand was a good worker.
But when told a crewmate saw him throw the bacon overboard, the deckhand looked shocked and tripped backwards.
Williams said he slid at that same moment, his boot skidding into the deckhand's face.
He “nearly did the splits” and suffered a tweak to his knee but it was not bad enough to consult a doctor.
Under cross-examination by Mr Maynard, the sergeant confirmed Williams had not previously been the subject of a Maritime NZ incident report and had not previously appeared in court for violent offending.
The sergeant confirmed that aside from the complainant and the skipper, there were three other crew onboard, all of who apparently witnessed the incident. None were called as witnesses.
One was the complainant's Indonesian workmate, who she spoke with; one she could not contact; and the other did not return her call.
