"We got to finish him off, make him bleed," were the shocking words which spurred a Taranaki man to run for his life after he was stabbed while seeing in the New Year in the Wairarapa.
Opunake farm worker Jason Haira recounted the attack at Lake Ferry, while recovering with
family in Martinborough.
The two deepest wounds only just missed the jugular vein in his neck and the other perforated his gut.
Mr Haira said the night started out well, with his relatives at the Lake Ferry pub.
After the pub closed about 2am, he headed off alone, and less than sober, to one of two bonfires, hoping to meet friends.
He was joined by six youths aged about 17 to 20 - three male and three female.
"One of them, just out of the blue, wanted me to fight him. I said, 'No'. He had to be on something to attack you like that."
When he managed to fight his assailant to the ground another youth joined the fight.
"I can't remember the knife going in. I can just remember the blood coming out.
"After that I was just fighting for my life because they were going to finish me off.
"I could hear the girls screaming, telling them to leave me alone."
He ran off into the dark to escape.
"I could hear them saying, 'We've got to get him, make him bleed. We've got to finish him off'."
He hid in a paddock for some time, before making his way to a nearby house where a party was in progress. "I needed some help. There was blood everywhere."
Mr Haira said he had never been a fighter but, as a big guy, was often picked on.
"I couldn't defend myself. They could see that. It was a malicious attack - premeditated even."
Detective Sergeant Bill Van Woerkom, of Masterton, said Mr Haira had been stabbed three times by the two men who set upon him.
"We're still seeking witnesses. We are asking them to contact the Masterton police."
Mr Haira is now keen to see his attackers caught and get back to his Opunake home.
"I want to carry on with my life. I've had a second chance."
- NZPA
