Face-slasher gets sentence reduced

Photo / File.

A Taranaki man who slashed a drunk and aggressive man in the face has had a year cut from his conviction.

Rico Mareikura, 31, was jailed for five-and-a-half years in New Plymouth District Court last August after he was earlier found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The trial heard how Mareikura and his partner were walking along Egmont St in New Plymouth when they came upon a drunk man who was having trouble finding his car.

The couple stopped to help the 34-year-old man, who became confrontational and aggressive.

The man removed his shirt and advanced on Mareikura and his partner, who backed away in retreat.

Mareikura took a blade and struck the man in the side of the face. The blade cut through the man's cheek and tongue, damaging some of his teeth and severing an artery.

The victim needed complete reconstruction of the bottom side of his teeth and stitches to his tongue, which later burst, requiring further treatment.

Mareikura appealed his sentence in the Court of Appeal, arguing he was seriously provoked by a much larger man who was no stranger to violence.

The court found the sentencing judge had acknowledged the victim's behaviour as a mitigating factor, but made no reference to it in setting the starting point for Mareikura's sentence.

The court quashed his sentence and imposed a new sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison. It also quashed a minimum period of imprisonment.