KEY POINTS:
A Christchurch psychiatric patient who pushed a fellow patient off a porch leaving him a tetraplegic has escaped a custodial sentence.
In Christchurch District Court today Damion Mark Kite, a 29-year-old Hillmorton Hospital patient, was sentenced to 18 months' intense supervision.
His counsel David Ruth told Judge Jane Farish it was apparent that a minor physical act resulted in a serious outcome.
He said that it appeared coffee was thrown at another person, and Kite pushed both him and the victim Vernon Tuck off the porch at the hospital.
Mr Tuck landed on his neck and was now a tetraplegic.
The probation report said that intensive supervision was appropriate, which would be a suitable outcome as the forensic psychiatric services could follow him up, he said.
Police prosecutor Trudi Aickin recommended a stopping violence course as well.
Judge Farish told Kite that the wording of his charge "injuring under circumstances that if death had been caused, he would have been guilty of manslaughter" indicated how serious it was.
She said Kite had a long-standing association with the mental health services and had previous violence and driving convictions.
The victim impact report said that Vernon Tuck's life was now ruined, that he was in a wheelchair and could not do basic tasks. He was hoping to get more feeling back in his hands.
The report by Mr Tuck's sister, Dot O'Connell, told of how her life was now turned upside down.
She was stressed, had to have time off work and was trying to help her brother to cope.
She was very sad, and had no other family to help her.
Judge Farish sentenced Kite to 18 months' intensive supervision with conditions that he undertake programmes to deal with anger management and drug and alcohol issues.
"In the next 18 months you have a lot of things you need to do. If you don't comply - if you come back to court - you are likely to go to jail," she told Kite.
- NZPA
