TOP STORY: Deranged man gets jail after abduction

A 20-year-old Te Puke man who fantasised about tying people up and cutting them with a sharp knife before laughing as his victims bled, has been jailed for two years and three months.
Jacob Paul admitted he kidnapped and robbed two teenagers at knifepoint in June last year and was sentenced in Tauranga District Court on Friday.
Paul _ who earlier pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery and two charges of kidnapping _ was also ordered to pay reparation of $768 for damage to a car owned by one of his victims.
The court was told how Paul and another person accosted three teenagers sitting in a car near Te Puke High School at 12.30pm on June 21.
They were both allegedly holding knives when Paul confronted the 18-year-old male driver, grabbed his throat, pointed the knife at him and demanded his watch.
After a 14-year-old in the car fled and raised the alarm, Paul, who was still holding a knife, asked his co-accused: "Shall I stab him? Shall I stab him?"
Paul also held a knife to the other 14-year-old girl and forced the man to drive them all to a remote area in the Papamoa Hills.
Along the way, Paul had stabbed the front sunvisor to signal he was serious.
Once at the hills he stole a cellphone from his male victim, who then offered the attackers more items before he and a female managed to escape.
Paul's lawyer, Craig Tuck, told Judge Peter Rollo the psychiatrist reports only endorsed his own concerns about Paul's offending.
He said they clearly stemmed from what the psychiatrist described as a major depression episode combined with an anti-social personality disorder.
It is also suspected Paul suffers from epilepsy, which was all in the mix of what occurred on June 21, Mr Tuck said.
"When you analyse his offending and put that alongside what the psychiatrist has to say, it's clear that he was like a slow train going down a track toward a major crash," he said.
Mr Tuck said Paul's past gang involvement alongside his personality disorder had seen him "playing out" a "pseudo LA gang lifestyle" without fully understanding the consequences of his actions.
Mr Tuck said Paul was genuinely remorseful and alongside the need for psychiatric intervention a prison sentence of two years or less with leave to apply for home detention on humanitarian grounds was justified.
But Crown prosecutor Sharee Christensen disagreed. She said despite the medical prognosis, Paul's offending was at the top end for this type of crime and a prison sentence starting at 3 to four years was warranted.
Judge Rollo said despite the psychiatrist's report, which he said made disturbing reading, Paul had been deemed fit to stand trial and comprehend the consequences of his actions.
Not only had Paul admitted his past involvement in gangs and fighting with poles and knives, he confessed his favourite pastime was watching movies of people being tortured and he fantasised about tying people up, cutting them with a sharp knife and then laughing as they bled.
Paul also confessed he'd tortured his younger brother, all gravely concerning factors in this case, the judge said.
Judge Rollo said although Paul required psychiatric intervention, that was available in prison and therefore a prison sentence was still warranted.
Paul's co-accused plans to defend the charges at a trial in May.