Israel Adesanya and other MMA fighters react to the sentence of Ofa Folau, a man involved in the attack of Fau Vake, to six months of home detention. Video / NZ Herald
Eugene Bareman understands the irony in his latest venture.
The head coach from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym has revealed he is among the founders of a new charity, the Walk Without Fear Trust, aimed at eliminating the impact of street violence in New Zealand.
“A message of anti-violence coming from someone who makes their living in combat sports may seem like a paradox to some, but nothing makes me more qualified to understand the power of violence,” Bareman said.
“I understand more than most [that] unsanctioned, meaningless violence causes harm to society.”
It’s a venture that has been launched after Lifau “Fau” Vake, a pupil at the Auckland martial arts gym, died following an attack during a night out in Auckland in 2021.
Vake’s death rocked Bareman, the members of the gym and its wider community, and the group was strong in its intention to try to do something about it.
Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is an ambassador for the trust and said the City Kickboxing team had not been the same since Vake’s death.
“Fau’s death is a reminder of the tragic consequences of street violence. We can’t continue to allow this to happen,” he said.
In June 2020, then-National MP Matt King drafted a private member’s bill to send “coward’s punch” offenders to prison for up to 20 years. It followed the lead of Australia, where one-punch laws carry hefty penalties in the event of death.
In New South Wales, such an offence comes with a minimum sentence of eight years in prison. In Queensland, a maximum penalty of life imprisonment is applicable. In Victoria, the Sentencing Act 1999 outlines that the court must impose a prison term and a minimum non-parole period of 10 years unless it finds a special reason not to.
City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman has launched a new charity aimed at eliminating the impact of street violence in New Zealand. Photo / Alyse Wright
However, King’s bill was voted down at its first reading by 63 votes to 57 votes, with Labour, NZ First and the Green Party MPs all against.
Less than 12 months later, in May 2021, Vake and his brother James were attacked by a group of four men outside a bar on Symonds St, central Auckland. Prosecutors repeatedly pointed out the Vake brothers did not throw any punches themselves and were not the aggressors.
Justice Sally Fitzgerald noted that a blow caused Vake to fall to the ground, where he subsequently hit his head, causing a brain bleed that led to his death in hospital nine days later. The man who landed the blow was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail for manslaughter, with the judge noting Vake had no opportunity to avoid the punch and did not threaten the offender. Others involved in the attack were sentenced to home detention.
There have been several other recent instances of coward’s punches leaving victims with serious injuries. In March 2022, a man was left on the pavement in Nelson with a fractured skull and a brain aneurysm after he was punched while trying to break up a fight.
In October 2022, a man ended up on life support after being struck outside a Christchurch bar.
Bareman said he founded the trust to promote awareness of the consequences of one-punch and coward punch attacks, as well as other forms of violence against victims and their families.
“A coward’s punch leaves no opportunity for a victim to defend themselves and this has devastating consequences – in some cases, lifelong disabilities or even death.
“It is an abhorrent crime and needs to be stopped immediately.”
