Youth admits attack on millionaire racing sponsor

A young Te Puke man has admitted a violent attack on merchant banker Sam Kelt after he protested about late-night boy-racer behaviour at Mt Maunganui.

Mr Kelt sponsors New Zealand's richest horse race, the $1 million Kelt Capital Stakes, in Hawke's Bay.

Raponi Terangikatukua Wilson, 20, a computer technician who was arrested last week and charged with common assault, pleaded guilty before Judge Thomas Ingram in Tauranga District Court yesterday.

Prosecutor David Pawson said Wilson had been driving a vehicle on Marine Parade about 12.35am on Saturday, July 15, with three passengers.

Mr Kelt walked out in front of the car, forcing Wilson to stop. After a heated verbal exchange, Wilson punched Mr Kelt once, knocking him to the ground and causing him to smash the back of his head against the tarsealed roadway.

The banker suffered a fractured skull, a fractured right eye socket and bleeding to the brain. He spent eight days in hospital.

Judge Ingram told Wilson's lawyer, Nicholas Dutch: "This is pretty serious. It doesn't mean he is going to prison but it doesn't mean he won't. You don't go cracking someone's skull and be dealt with on the same day [the guilty plea is entered]."

The solidly built Wilson stood quietly in the dock as the judge suggested his counsel "might like to explore restorative justice," given the defendant's age.

He was remanded on bail for two weeks for pre-sentence, reparation and emotional harm reports to be prepared.

The altercation took place near local landmarks Oceanside Twin Towers and the Mount surf club. The area is notorious for noise complaints about boy racers at weekends and holiday times.

Mr Kelt reportedly asked police not to investigate the assault but his family wanted it followed up after his condition deteriorated.

- NZPA