Fall out expected over fiery first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill and Prime Minister hopes to meet with leaders at APEC summit. Video / NZ Herald
As the whānau of a man stabbed to death by his schizophrenic neighbour continue to grieve their loss, they struggle to understand how his killer was able to live in the community while so mentally unwell.
“It pains me to know that the individual responsible for this heinous act lived next door and exhibited disturbing behaviour that was witnessed by others such as throwing his urine at people,” Mereana, the daughter of Guy Sing Quaver Hihiterangi Thompson, told the High Court at Hamilton.
“How was it that he was allowed to live in our community?”
Thompson’s whānau packed the courtroom yesterday sporting T-shirts that read “We want justice”.
Although Justice Christian Whata handed down a minimum non-parole period of 50% – meaning he has to serve half his sentence before being eligible for parole – they labelled the prison term, “ridiculous”, as Thompson was “forever dead” but Ko would soon be back in the community.
“It’s disgusting,” Mereana said.
“What about the public when he’s released? What about the safety of the public?”
Ko, 50, had been acting aggressively on the morning of September 17, 2022, and throwing bottles of urine at the car of Thompson’s 19-year-old granddaughter as she reversed out of the driveway, next to his Hamilton property.
As her driver’s window was open the contents splashed on to her hand.
They were able to identify the liquid as urine “due to the strong odour”.
She initially drove away but then returned to park outside Ko’s property and phoned Thompson to tell him what had happened.
Thompson got into his vehicle and reversed down the driveway and stopped adjacent to Ko’s house.
He walked through a gap in the fencing and approached Ko who was still outside, yelling.
As Thompson approached Ko, he moved inside his house. The pair argued before Thompson put Ko in a headlock and slapped his face at least twice. They then exchanged body punches.
Thompson was then seen holding Ko’s hands to stop him from punching before both men moved out of the view of those watching.
At some point, Ko armed himself with a homemade weapon – a combination of a slingshot and a knife, with a blade that measured 14cm long and 5cm wide.
The pair ended up on the floor with Thompson on top. Ko then stabbed him four times and Thompson died from blood loss soon after.
Police at the scene on Roy St, Hamilton, after Chit Ko Ko fatally stabbed his neighbour, Guy Thompson. Photo / Supplied
Following his arrest, Ko also threw urine at prison officers.
He went on to be treated by mental health staff and was diagnosed with schizophrenia complicated by the “neuropsychiatric effects of HIV infection”.
Experts found it was clear Ko’s psychotic illness, involving persecutory thoughts and delusions, was active at the time of offending.
‘Broken hearts and a deep sense of trauma’
More than 20 of Thompson’s whānau members were in court to see Ko get sentenced with some taking the opportunity to tell him how his actions had irrevocably changed their lives.
Mereana said although her father was a big man, he was “a gentle giant”.
“He was the type of person who would take the shirt off his back if you ever needed his help.
“Since his passing ... our family has never been the same. We are left with broken hearts and a deep sense of trauma.
“The manner in which he was taken from us is something which I struggle to comprehend.
Chit Ko Ko in the dock of the High Court at Hamilton during an earlier court appearance. Photo / Belinda Feek
“Not a day goes by without thinking of my dad, our dad. You took him from us and that can never be replaced.”
Thompson was the fourth member of their whānau to die in 2022. The others included his beloved wife, Sandra, his mother, Nola, and his brother, Sonny.
‘Not a retributive act’
Crown solicitor Jacinda Hamilton accepted that while Thompson was involved in the scuffle, she urged the judge to put into context a man acting as a protector in circumstances where his grandchildren had been attacked and were frightened.
“It’s relevant to observe that this is not a case of a retributive act ... the defendant went inside knowing that was where he kept his homemade weapon,” she said.
“This was a particular weapon this man had fashioned and habitually had with him. It remains that there’s a degree of pre-meditation and the victim was vulnerable.”
She pushed for an MPI of 50%, but defence counsel Shelley Gilbert suggested Justice Whata let the Parole Board decide when her client should be released.
She said Ko had moved inside and away from Thompson who followed him. But Justice Whata noted that he had the knife inside.
Gilbert agreed but said Ko was frightened and pointed to his background, which saw him raised in Burma before spending time in a Thai refugee camp and then coming to New Zealand.
She suggested his arrival may have been one of the reasons why he “fell through the cracks” of the mental health system.
A psychiatrist’s report suggested Ko’s actions were the result of schizophrenia “rather than any criminal or malicious intent”.
Gilbert pushed for discounts up to 30% based on the contents of the report and his upbringing.
But Justice Whata agreed the safety of the community was paramount, noting Ko refused to engage in any mental health treatment and remained at a high risk of reoffending.
He said Ko had struggled to integrate after arriving in New Zealand which had exacerbated his mental health challenges.
“When you are well you behave appropriately but when you are unwell you do not.
“While we can assume that the Parole Board will carefully review your condition ... I have come to the view that the particular risks represented by you require a cautionary approach.”
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20.
