Fisherman faces charge after death

By JO-MARIE BROWN

An Auckland fisherman may be charged with manslaughter after allegedly attacking a harbourmaster while arguing about navigation lights.

Rotorua harbourmaster David Pilkington died of a suspected heart attack on Friday after he was punched and knocked to the ground by the fisherman at Lake Okataina.

Detective Sergeant Garry Hawkins said a fisherman in his 50s would be charged over the incident but police were awaiting autopsy results before deciding the nature of the charge.

Possibilities included manslaughter if the fisherman's actions were found to have contributed to the heart attack.

An argument broke out between the pair around 8 pm at the lake's boat ramp when Mr Pilkington and a colleague approached the man about not having navigation lights on his boat, Detective Sergeant Hawkins said.

"Okataina is a pitch-black place when night falls and [no lights] can be quite a hazard to other boat users."

Rotorua District Council's manager of regulatory services, Jim Nicklin, said numerous complaints had already been made about the fisherman's unsafe boating practices.

Mr Pilkington was called out to Lake Okataina that night when locals spotted the Aucklander on the water again. When the fisherman, who is understood to have been drunk, returned to shore, he became angry when asked for his name and address.

"Mr Pilkington would have been endeavouring to get compliance with the Rotorua District's lakes bylaw which required the use of navigation lights after dusk," Mr Nicklin said.

A $500 infringement notice - the maximum penalty for breaching the bylaw - had not been written when police say Mr Pilkington was violently pushed and punched.

One minute later, the 64-year-old suffered a suspected heart attack and died. The council had since learned the man's identity and would pursue a regulation breach.