The son of a New Zealand music luminary has denied attacking his uncle.
Nicholas "Nikko" Jeremiah Chunn, 38, appeared in Auckland District Court this afternoon after being charged with assaulting Timothy Sheahan last month.
Chunn, son of former Split Enz star Mike Chunn and half-brother of Black Cap Jimmy Neesham, is on bail after the alleged attack, which is understood to have happened in Ponsonby at the end of October.
After entering a plea of not guilty on behalf of her client, defence lawyer Mary Kennedy said the case had been "enormously distressing" for the defendant.
However, little more could be discussed about the case because both she and Judge Ema Aitken said they knew members of the Chunn family and witnesses who would be called in the event of a trial.
Outside court Chunn said he did not understand the interest in the case.
He also objected to his father being brought into it when it had "nothing to do with him whatsoever".
Mike Chunn, who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, is the chief executive of the Play It Strange Trust, set up to encourage young Kiwis' musical endeavours.
The complainant in the matter also did not respond to requests for comment but a friend of his said it was "a family matter".
Like his father, Nikko Chunn had also got involved in the music business.
According to his New Zealand music profile, he cut his teeth playing the piano.
"But it was his singing ability that stopped people in their tracks. Then when he wrote his first song at the age of 16 the singer/songwriter emerged."
Nikko Chunn told his 195 Facebook fans last month that physical ailments had frustrated him of late.
He complained of a frozen thorax and a neck that consequently shut down, creating pressure on neck and spinal nerves which "affected my mood among other things over the last 11 weeks".
He was remanded on bail and will be back in court in February.
His bail conditions restrict him from entering a specific Parnell street, contacting the complainant or "offering violence to anyone or anything".