Blinding puncher found guilty

Erika Akuhata was found guilty of blinding a man in one eye after a work function in Napier. File photo / NZ Herald

A jury took barely an hour to find a man guilty of causing another to lose sight in one eye with a single punch outside a club after a Christmas party in Napier.

Erika Akuhata, 47, pleaded not guilty to the charge of injuring fellow Hastings man Peter Mitchell, 30.

Arrested on the night of the incident on December 17 outside the Taradale Club, and on bail for most of the time since, Akuhata has been remanded in custody for sentence in the Napier District Court on September 27.

Judge Geoff Rea and a jury of seven women and five men was told Akuhata knocked Michell to the ground as he tried to follow another man who had been involved in another assault outside the club.

He claimed it was self-defence.

The mid-evening incidents arose among a small group who had remained at the club after a workplace Christmas function.

As a result of the incident, police successfully applied for suspension of the club's liquor licence on the basis that people had not been legally on the premises as members or bona fide guests of members.

The club has been barred from selling liquor for 26 days from November 2, but will keep its restaurant, sports and gambling facilities open through that time.

-APNZ