Christchurch man killed stranger he thought was abducting his son from skatepark

The man killed Mewa Singh at Linwood Park in Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

A man killed a stranger he mistakenly believed was trying to kidnap his son from a skatepark after hitting him with a single “haymaker-style punch”.

On the evening of April 7 last year, the man, whose name is suppressed, drove his 7-year-old son to Linwood Park in Christchurch around 6.30pm.

After spending time at the park he said it was time to leave, but the boy did not follow his instructions so he drove off to “teach his son a lesson”, according to the summary of facts.

He returned a short time later and, from the opposite side of the road, saw a man he did not know holding his son’s hand near a bus stop.

The summary said the man became enraged and when he reached the stranger, he told him to get his hands off his son and shoved him.

About 7.15pm, the man drove his son back to his ex-partner’s house where he explained he had seen their son with an Indian male.

The boy told his father that the man was trying to walk him to “daddy’s car”. The father responded with: “f*** this, I’m going back there to find him,” despite his ex-partner advising him not to go.

He returned to the park where he found Mewa Singh, a 60-year-old man who had only been in New Zealand for about four months to visit family.

The man confronted Singh, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and accusing him of trying to abduct his son.

He shoved Singh and then let him go, before punching him once in the jaw with a closed fist in a “haymaker- style punch”.

Singh fell backward and struck his head on the pavement. Believing Singh to be dead, he left the scene and returned to his ex’s house.

There, he told her he had punched a man and thought he had killed him. The woman phoned emergency services.

The man later made the same admission to his flatmate.

Singh did not regain consciousness after being punched. He was treated in the Intensive Care Unit at Christchurch Hospital with a skull fracture and internal bleeding. His injuries were inoperable, and he died after being taken off life support on April 9.

When spoken to by police, the man said he believed Singh had tried to abduct his son.

He said he had lost control and hit him, and was worried that he might be dead.

The man will be sentenced in the High Court for the manslaughter of Singh on October 22.