Chase after stabbing

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 14

Chase after stabbing

A man with a partially collapsed lung after being stabbed in the chest pursued his assailant from the New Brighton Tavern through the Mall to Whitcoull’s shop, according to evidence given in the District Court yesterday. Reihana Chase, aged 28, a labourer, faces trial before Judge Fraser and a jury on a charge of injuring Allan Duncan George McKinley with intent, at New Brigton on the afternoon of Saturday, April 16.

He has denied the charge. The trial will continue today. Mr S. G. Erber appears for the Crown and Mr E. Bedo for the defendant.

The Crown case, outlined by Mr Erber, was that Mr McKinley had been stabbed by the defendant at a tavern exit after he had approached the defendant in the public bar. The defendant had been pointed out to Mr McKinley as the person who had allegedly attacked one of the women in Mr McKinley’s group, on a past occasion. The defendant had been acquitted at a subsequent trial.

The Crown contended that Mr McKinley was stabbed outside the tavern. Mr Erber said the defendant, when questioned after the incident, at first denied stabbing Mr McKinley but then said he stabbed Mr McKinley in self defence after being beaten up in Whitcoull’s shop. Mr McKinley gave evidence of being in the public bar of the tavern with a group of friends and having Reihana Chase pointed out to him. One of his friends complained of having been raped by Chase on a past occasion.

Mr McKinley went up to

the defendant, who said his brother was Reihana Chase and was in the next bar. The defendant then ran past him, and near the doorway exit he thought the defendant punched him, but when another person said he had been stabbed, Mr McKinley saw blood on his Tshirt.

The defendant ran off towards the Mall and Mr McKinley went after him. Near a fountain, the defendant turned and confronted him with a knife. He picked up a rubbish tin to defend himself. The defendant again ran off, and turned into Whitcoull’s shop, followed by Mr McKinley. The defendant held a knife and Mr McKinley picked up a small display stand. The defendant moved to another part of the shop and Wayne Campbell, one of the group who had followed them, grabbed at the knife. Mr McKinley hit the defendant with the display stand and the other man took the knife from the defendant.

Another person in his party came past the shop, saw Mr McKinley had been stabbed and began fighting the defendant. Cross-examined, Mr McKinley denied that he had gone up to the defendant to “have him on,” pnd con-

fronted him. He said he wanted to make sure it was Chase. He denied that he had chosen the time, while with male friends, to approach the defendant and have him on about the alleged incident with a female friend. The witness said he was stabbed outside the hotel bar entrance, and not in Whitcoull’s. The first time he saw the defendant holding a knife was during the chase, when he confronted the defendant near a fountain.

Jury Taiaroa Nepata said he saw the defendant and Mr McKinley run from outside the hotel. Later, he saw them in the mall and he fought with the defendant until the police arrived. Cross-examined, he denied that he and others in their group had decided to beat up the defendant.

Medical evidence was given of Mr McKinley being admitted to hospital and treated for a stab wound to the chest, and a partially collapsed lung. Heath Thurlow Thompson, a surgeon, said in crossexamination that a person could be capable of quite considerable physical exertion after a lung wound. A chest X-ray showed that the left lung was half-deflated.