Man admits scissor attack on passenger during Cook Strait crossing on Interislander

A passenger on the Interislander ferry was stabbed by a man wielding scissors during a Cook Strait crossing in February this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Passengers on an otherwise standard ferry trip across Cook Strait were alarmed to see a man suddenly lunge at another passenger and stab him with a pair of scissors.

A 23-year-old man was remanded for a further psychiatric report in the Nelson District Court yesterday, having pleaded guilty to a charge of injuring with intent/reckless disregard, after the incident on board an Interislander ferry on February 8 this year.

It happened just weeks after an Interislander ferry issued a mayday after it lost power and was left drifting with 800 passengers on board before dropping its anchors off Wellington’s South Coast.

The man, who has name suppression, was on the Interislander ferry travelling from Wellington to Picton.

About 4.20pm he and the victim were in the lounge area of the ferry when the man walked towards the victim with scissors in his hand.

The police summary of facts said he then began to “rapidly advance” on the victim from behind with scissors in his hand, and stabbed him in his left side. He swung the scissors twice more, but missed.

In explanation, the man told police he had “wanted to harm the victim with scissors”.

Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore told the court that psychiatric reports already completed confirmed that the man did not have the defence of insanity available to him, but that he did have a “serious mental health problem”.

Dollimore said discussions with various doctors showed the man, who appeared in court via video link from a mental health facility, had made “major progress”.

Judge David Ruth remanded the man in the care of the facility until next month for a further report that would help the court better understand the best outcome.

Interislander general manager of operations Duncan Roy told NZME it would not comment on this particular incident.

It was however standard practice for the organisation to review security on its ships ahead of the peak summer period, to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew.