Multiple people have been hospitalised after a man entered several restaurants in the Auckland suburb of Albany and attacked customers with a weapon on Monday night.
Video / Hayden Woodward
Police have laid five new charges against the man accused of attacking diners at multiple North Shore restaurants with an axe last month.
The man appeared in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday morning after the five new charges were laid. They include four of wounding or injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one of assault using a log-splitting axe as a weapon.
The court heard the man is currently receiving mental health treatment in Mt Eden Prison and remains, in the words of mental health court liaison nurse who addressed the court, “acutely psychotic”.
Judge Grant Fraser has also relaxed sweeping suppression orders granted by a Community Magistrate at the man’s first appearance in the North Shore District Court last month.
“It’s acknowledged that [the defendant] is still acutely psychotic,” Judge Fraser said.
The Judge granted the Herald’s in-court application to relax the terms of the order to standard interim name suppression. The earlier orders prohibited media from publishing the names of anyone who witnessed the event.
The new charges cover five separate victims, court documents show. The 24-year-old man appeared via audio-visual link from Mt Eden prison’s treatment wing, assisted by a Mandarin interpreter and represented by Timothy Leighton.
The man has yet to enter a plea and was remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance in the same court on September 6.
He is understood to be a Chinese national who had recently come to New Zealand.
He allegedly stormed into several Corinthian Dr restaurants in Albany before attacking diners with an axe.
On June 20, the day after the alleged attack, the man appeared in the North Shore District Court to face a single charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody.
At the North Shore hearing, Community Magistrate Rosemary Fitzpatrick made an unusually sweeping order suppressing not just the man’s name and the name of the victims, but also the names of any witnesses to the incident and most of the submissions made in court.
The man accused faces a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison if convicted on the wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm charge.
Police tape surrounds one of the restaurants on Corinthian Drive, in Albany, where a number of people were attacked, allegedly by a man wielding a log splitting axe. Photo / Hayden Woodward
At his first appearance last month, Kan sought interim suppression of his client’s name and identifying details, such as occupation and address. Fitzpatrick granted the application and then went further by suppressing the identity of any witnesses to the incident.
The matter was then stood down before any bail arguments could be heard or future dates set, for reasons that were also suppressed.
When the case was called again several hours later, Fitzpatrick heard arguments from media who were seeking a variation to the order allowing them to name witnesses to the attack that reporters had already interviewed.
The media submissions were supported by Kan, who said fair and accurate reporting of witness accounts with their names would quell undue speculation in the community.
An injured person is supported after an axe attack at an Albany restaurant. Photo / Supplied
“From what I have seen from the news media so far, it doesn’t appear that the news media has crossed the line,” the defence lawyer said.
“In my submission, the core issue here is trying to stop the community from speculating. The media still has a job to ensure there’s open justice.”
Isolated incident - Police
Police earlier said initial inquiries suggested the man was acting alone.
“Police would like to reassure the public that initial inquiries suggest that this is an isolated incident and we can confirm we are not seeking anyone further in relation to this incident,” said a spokesperson.
Police would be present in the area this morning as a wider scene examination was conducted.
Inquiries into the incident remain ongoing and Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident, said a spokesperson.
St John said it was called to the incident at 9.04pm. Two ambulances and a rapid response unit went to the scene.
“We assessed and treated three patients - one in a serious condition transported to Auckland [City] Hospital and one in a serious condition and one in a moderate condition transported to North Shore Hospital.”
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
