A man who fatally punched Wellington man Clark McCulloch in the head thought he was about to get hit himself, the High Court has heard.
Hariboy Hetaraka is on trial in Wellington, charged with manslaughter.
Crown prosecutor Sally Carter told the jury Hetaraka was provoked by a racial slur when the pair clashed in July last year.
She said Mr McCulloch was behaving inappropriately, but Hetaraka's response was over the top.
A jury of seven women and five men will sit through the trial.
