It is the Crown’s case Hohua was being punished for secretly using his gang’s bank account to make online purchases through a website called Layaway. They took the beating too far and took Hohua to Whakatāne Hospital, but he died the next day from his injuries, Crown prosecutor Sunny Teki-Clark said in his opening address on Monday last week.
In a minute issued yesterday by Justice Harvey, he said he had informed the jury Justice Venning sincerely apologised but the trial was unable to continue because he had taken ill and the trial could not continue in the allocated time.
Justice Harvey said given the nature of the evidence the jury members were exposed to during the first week, they would be exempt from jury service for five years.
The five men would find out when another trial could be scheduled at a callover hearing on May 29.
Collier was remanded on electronically monitored bail, Tapara was remanded on bail and Biddle, Rapana and Gage were remanded in custody.
A witness who failed to attend court last week and was arrested over the weekend in Whakatāne would be released from custody, the minute said.
The allegations and what the defence says
Teki-Clark said in his opening address Hohua’s online purchases took place between September 2020 and September 2021 and were made by direct debit from the Tribesman account.
Hohua did not have authority to make the purchases. It was the “number-one item on the agenda of the club meeting” on June 18, 2022 that Hohua must be hotboxed, Teki-Clark told the jury.
He said the hotbox was carried out at a property on Hodges Rd at Waimana and lasted about 40 minutes. It started in a shed and, as Hohua tried to protect himself, the assault moved around other areas of the property.
Hohua was put in the boot of a car and driven to a nearby river to be “cleaned up” but the assault continued at the river.
When he was returned to Hodges Rd, he was moved to the back of another vehicle and driven to Whakatāne Hospital by Collier and Tapara, Teki-Clark said.
Hohua was unconscious and bleeding from the mouth and nose. Teki-Clark said Collier and Tapara told hospital staff they did not know the man and found him beside a bridge. They said they could not stay because they needed to go to work.
Hohua was airlifted to Waikato Hospital, where a scan revealed he suffered a brain bleed and several fractures. He died the next day.
Teki-Clark said Hohua had been a patched member of the Tribesmen gang for many years. Biddle was described as a patched member, Rapana as the gang’s president, Gage as the vice-president, Tapara as a patched member and Collier as a prospect.
Biddle’s lawyer, John Munro, told the jury Hohua did not die from the assault, he died from a fall.
Rapana’s lawyer, Steve Franklin, said there was no hotbox or “nasty event” ordered as the Crown said. He said there were a series of fights that morning and no one intended for Hohua to die.
Gage’s lawyer, Rebekah Webby, said her client was at Hodges Rd but was not involved in an assault. Although he was the vice-president, he did not sanction a hotbox.
Lawyer Caitlin Gentleman, for Tapara, said there was “real doubt” about Tapara’s involvement in the death.
Lawyer Scott Mills, for Collier, said what happened was tragic but Collier “simply was not involved”. His involvement was to anxiously look for medical help.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
