Pub brawl ends in prison time for Swedish tourist

File photo / NZ Herald

A Swedish man has been sentenced to one and a half years' in prison following the death of a Kiwi man at a pub brawl in Thailand in 2012.

The 42-year-old man from Gotland was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for aggravated assault and manslaughter, at the Nacka District Court on Friday, Swedish media reported.

It was reported that he was unable to be charged with murder due to flaws in the investigation.

The conviction comes after an altercation involving the man and New Zealander Robert Hollick, 43, at a bar in Pattaya, Thailand, on August 21, 2012,

Swedish media reported that the pair initially argued about a dog, before becoming involved in an altercation a few hours later.

In the fight, Mr Hollick suffered from stab wounds to the neck, and later died.

The Nacka District Court was critical of the initial investigation into Mr Hollick's death, Swedish media reported.

The court said it believed the investigation was incomplete, inaccurate and unclear, as Thai police did not carry out any detailed crime scene investigation and did not hold any formal hearings.

A knife, which was suspected to have been the murder weapon, also disappeared.

Due to these "flaws" in the investigation, the Nacka District Court was unable to charge the man with murder.

Before his death, Mr Hollick owned Top Dog personnel, a company that provided earthmoving workers to Western Australian mines.

He was semi-retired and had moved to Thailand, a Top Dog worker said.

His Old Friends profile said he grew up in Upper Hutt, attending Upper Hutt College before working in the Upper Hutt Post Shop.

After a year there he moved on to BNZ Upper Hutt and then from 1993 to 1999 he worked in "various weird and wonderful jobs".

In 2000 Mr Hollick got involved in recruitment work, before opening his own business - Top Dog Personnel - in 2005.

He was not married and did not have any children.

In 2012, his elderly mother said she was shocked to hear of her son's death, and said she hated him being "over there" in Thailand.

The Nacka District Court also ordered the man to pay $30,000 SEK ($4597 NZD) in damages to the Mr Hollick's family.