The defendent was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court to jail for stabbing a man with a boning knife. Photo / NZME
A freezing worker who chased and stabbed a man in a backyard with a boning knife he had hidden under his jacket claims he was acting in self-defence.
But a jury didn’t buy Viliame Kasanawaqa’s stories as he was jailed for four-and-a-half years in the Christchurch District Court on Friday.
Kasanawaqa was found guilty earlier this year on one charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one charge of wilful damage relating to a car.
The court heard that Kasanawaqa was at a party on December 19, 2020, when an argument broke out.
While a man was being restrained on the ground Kasanawaqa approached him and began punching him in the head. Kasanawaqa was then removed from the address.
The following week, two men from the party went to Kasanawaqa’s address to confront him, after being told he had smashed the windscreen of a car as he was leaving the party.
Kasanawaqa denied that he caused the damage to the car and suggested going to a fourth man’s address to discuss the matter.
The two men agreed to Kasanawaqa’s suggestion and offered him a ride to the fourth man’s house but he refused, saying he would meet them there.
When the two men left Kasanawaqa’s address, he went into his house and grabbed a boning knife, which he had from his job at the freezing works, and concealed it in his jacket.
Kasanawaqa then travelled to the address of the fourth man. The two men were already at the address, standing at the back door as they spoke with the owner of the address.
Kasanawaqa began to slowly climb the outdoor steps behind one of the men so he was the same height as him before he began to punch him in the head.
The man responded by returning punches to Kasanawaqa. He then pulled out the boning knife and stabbed the man in the abdomen.
The man turned to get away from Kasanawaqa but he chased and stabbed him a second time while threatening to kill the man, before leaving the address.
The court heard the man who was stabbed had a pregnant wife who he was not able to support due to having time off work. He also suffered nightmares from the attack and felt unsafe.
Crown prosecutor Shawn McManus said it appeared Kasanawaqa had lied to report writers about his upbringing, because one report said he grew up in a violent home while another said he had a happy upbringing.
McManus said Kasanawaqa could not claim he was acting in self-defence given he had chased the victim and stabbed him a second time.
She said the offending was premeditated given Kasanawaqa’s decision to stay behind and grab his knife before going to the address.
Kasanawaqa’s lawyer, Craig Ruane, said his client had been on bail since the incident which happened almost exactly three years ago and was compliant.
Ruane said Kasanawaqa was living on the streets in Suva, Fiji, where he was from for some time during his teenage years which “can’t have been good for him or helped his attitude towards others”.
He asked the judge to take into account the fact that Kasawanaqa didn’t have any previous convictions relating to violence.
Judge Kevin Phillips agreed with the jury’s decision to reject Kasanawaqa’s claim of self-defence, stating it was clearly an attack.
He said Kasanawaqa’s decision to take a dangerous weapon to the scene showed premeditation and had the potential to cause life-threatening injuries.
Judge Phillips sentenced Kasanawaqa to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
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