‘Provocation’ in chair-pulling

Press, 21 October 1983, Page 18

‘Provocation’ in chair-pulling

“Considerable” provocation was involved when a former director of Quill Humphrey, Ltd, pulled a chair away from a HART supporter at the firm’s annual meeting, said Judge Paterson at the District Court in Christchurch.

Robert George Kingscote, aged 61 (Mr B. McClelland Q.C.), was discharged without conviction but ordered to pay $5O towards the cost of the prosecution. He had denied the charge. Judge Paterson said that no-one was perfect, bnt the actions were those of a schoolboy rather than a man. The complainant, Richard Cuthbert, said in the District Court that he had attended the annual meeting on August 11 with other HART members who held shares in the company,

because of their concern at the company’s dealings with South Africa. He said he had sat next to Kingscote. “I addressed the chairman of the meeting who told me the meeting had not started. As I started to sit down Kingscote pulled my chair away and I fell to the ground.” Mr Cuthbert said Kingscote had said something like: “That will teach you” and he had gone to complain to a police inspector at the back of the room. Mr McClelland said there was no legal precedent for chair-pulling to amount to assault and urged that the charge be dismissed.

He said evidence did not show that the chair-pulling was performed with the intentiour of Mr Cuthbert falling down.