A man who caused the death of his ailing father has been sent to a mental hospital.
Shannon Tai, aged 28, of Weymouth, who has been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia, was found guilty by a jury last month of the manslaughter of his father, James Andrew Tai.
Tai backhanded and kicked his father after a heavy drinking session.
Unbeknown to Tai, his 47-year-old father had a heart ailment and the increased adrenalin flow resulting from the incident caused his heart to fail.
In the High Court at Auckland yesterday Justice David Baragwanath said that Mr Tai could have died at any time, hurrying for a bus or arguing with a neighbour.
Neither he nor his son knew he was suffering from the disease.
The judge said that Tai had probably not shortened the brief life span remaining to his father by much.
The judge said that Tai had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic and was assessed as being at high risk of re-offending.
Instead of sentencing Tai, Justice Baragwanath ordered that because of his mental condition, he should be detained in a mental hospital in his own interests and for the safety of the public.
Son gets hospital 'sentence'
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