Former professional K1 fighter Paul Takana Kingi was back in court yesterday as his third trial for the manslaughter of his uncle began.
Kingi is charged with the manslaughter of Rangiwananga Kingi, 60, who died from head injuries two days after being felled by a single punch from Kingi on January 6, 2004.
Kingi again pleaded not guilty when the trial began in the High Court at Wellington.
The jury of seven men and five women was told by Justice Simon France that Kingi had faced two previous trials which did not resolve matters, but was told the reasons for that were irrelevant.
"You are the judges now of this charge and that's all that matters," the judge said.
In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk told the jury Mr Kingi was killed by just one blow from his nephew Paul Kingi.
It was "a blow of such force and ferocity and precision" that it lifted Mr Kingi off the ground and propelled him backwards on to the concrete floor of the carport they were in.
Mr Kingi hit his head on the floor and was in a coma before dying two days later.
Mr Vanderkolk said this constituted manslaughter because Mr Kingi was killed by an unlawful act - an assault - by Paul Kingi.
It did not matter for manslaughter that he did not intend to kill his uncle.
"This is a case about a punch that killed a man," he said.
The punch happened during a heated dispute between the deceased and his brother Rongo, Paul Kingi's father, over a bull that one had lent the other and an alleged altercation and assault of a farmworker by Rangiwananga Kingi that day.
At the time of the punch, Paul Kingi was a professional fighter on the international K1 circuit, was 35, weighed 130kg and was 1.92m tall. His uncle was 60, 92kg and 1.78m tall.
Paul Kingi had returned days before from a fight in Japan against a top-15 world-ranked fighter.
Defence lawyer Christopher Stevenson said Paul Kingi had been taken along to help talk to his uncle after the earlier altercation because he got on so well with him. "Paul Kingi and his uncle were mates. They were very close," he said.
Tragically, when he tried to intervene his uncle swung a punch at him and he hit him with "a reactive, defensive blow". Mr Stevenson said it was Mr Kingi hitting his head on the concrete slab that killed him.
He said the case came down to just one question. "Is it possible Paul Kingi, when he struck his uncle, was acting in self-defence?"
Mr Stevenson said his client had been badly damaged during his fight in Japan just days before.
He said the defence would call evidence from a pathologist as to the level of force involved.
Mr Vanderkolk said it was not a matter of self-defence because the force used was plainly excessive.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
- NZPA
Kickboxer faces third manslaughter trial
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