Auckland man Fonumotu Manuhaapai jailed for beating Taiwanese tourist, knocking out his teeth

An Auckland man has been sentenced for brutally beating a Taiwanese tourist in Mission Bay.

The January 27 assault last year involved Fonumotu Manuhaapai, who was 19 at the time, knocking out a man’s teeth and stealing his family’s passports.

About 2.50pm, Manuhaapai began following the Taiwanese national, who was in New Zealand for a holiday, along Tamaki Dr.

He approached the victim, asking him for money, and when the victim refused, he kicked him to the ground.

Manuhaapai attempted to grab the victim’s bag, but the tourist resisted.

Manuhaapai threw a powerful punch, striking the man’s face and mouth.

Seizing the bag – which contained $800, an iPhone and five Taiwanese passports belonging to the man’s family – Manuhaapai fled down a side street.

The victim lost two front teeth, and suffered a broken tooth and traumatic damage to the dental root and gum area, with minor cuts and abrasions to his face and lips.

“Visitors to our country have the right to be protected from this type of thuggish behaviour,” Judge Kathryn Maxwell said during Manuhaapai’s sentencing in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

She did not accept the assault was “opportunistic offending” and pointed out the defendant had followed the victim.

The sentencing happened in the Auckland District Court. Photo / File

In a separate incident on March 5 this year, Manuhaapai punched a Mobil service station attendant in the face in another unprovoked attack.

Manuhaapai approached the victim about 2.25pm as he was leaving the store while on his cell phone.

The defendant punched the petrol station attendant and then kicked him in the face three times while he was on the ground, causing him to black out.

He then stole the victim’s cell phone and left him on the ground unconscious, bleeding from his head and convulsing.

The victim suffered a concussion, broken finger, abrasions to his face and arms, and a deep cut on his eyebrow.

He was left with broken glasses, multiple injuries and “ongoing feelings of anxiousness and dread” after the assault, Judge Maxwell said.

Manuhaapai pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, theft, and aggravated robbery.

Defence lawyer Asishna Prasad said Manuhaapai was “deeply, deeply sorry” and wanted to turn his life around.

Prasad said he had completed multiple courses and had started NCEA Level One while in custody.

He was determined to invest in himself and his education.

“He does not want to return to the same behaviour ever again,” Prasad said.

Manuhaapai had written and rewritten letters showing his apology and remorse for the assaults, Prasad said.

In court, Manuhaapai was supported by his mother, siblings, brother-in-law, and nephews in the public gallery.

Judge Maxwell said Manuhaapai‘s mother had courageously raised him and his seven siblings with the support of the church and wider community.

She said his family were loving and supportive and “dismayed at what had occurred”.

Judge Maxwell said the fact the Mission Bay attack involved a vulnerable tourist and happened during the day when members of the public were present was an important factor to consider.

“This type of offending… strikes fear into the community because it involves gratuitous violence.”

Prosecutor Pearl Philpott said the violence was “extreme” and had caused serious psychological harm to the victims.

Judge Maxwell sentenced Manuhaapai to three years and three months in prison, after allowing discounts for his youth and guilty pleas.

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