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Home / New Zealand

Corey Webster trial: 'Uneasy' judge dismisses punching allegation

Sam Hurley
By Sam Hurley
NZ Herald Print Editor·NZ Herald·
28 Jun, 2017 08:31 PM5 mins to read

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Basketballer Corey Webster has denied the assault charges. Photo / Greg Bowker

Basketballer Corey Webster has denied the assault charges. Photo / Greg Bowker

A judge has ruled an assault charge against basketball star Corey Webster cannot continue while based on an allegation he punched a man at an Auckland bar.

Webster, 28, is on trial at the North Shore District Court charged with two counts of assault after a midnight tussle at Takapuna Bar on November 30 last year.

The NBA hopeful is accused of pulling at a man's beard while enjoying birthday drinks with friends, before allegedly punching a man during a fracas later at the bar.

Judge Ajit Singh already said he had "a lot of qualms and unease" about witness testimony during the trial.

Today he ruled on a submission from Webster's lawyer Fletcher Pilditch to dismiss the punching charge, which Pilditch said was based on "unreliable" evidence from prosecution witnesses.

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Pilditch said the affray was a "fluid moving event outside, involving a number of people and in the dark".

Judge Singh agreed and ruled that the evidence "shows that everything happened fairly quickly - there was a fracas and commotion".

He said Joungmin Namkung's evidence, who police allege Webster punched, had "his eyes closed" and was in a "choke-hold" during the fight.

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The judge said Namkung's evidence showed he "did not see the punches being thrown" or who threw the punches, and was "guessing" Webster was his attacker.

The evidence of the bar's duty manager Eve Whitley was also scrutinised by Judge Singh.

Whitley had said she saw Namkung punched to the face and stomach by a "stocky man" who had been holding a bar stool.

However, she could not "remember any faces" from the fight or identify her friend's attacker.

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"The charge of assault cannot proceed on the basis of the allegation of punches," Judge Singh ruled.

Following submissions by counsel, Judge Singh ruled the assault charge would proceed on the accusation of Webster allegedly pulled Namkung's hoodie alone.

Judge: Who is the man in the red cap?

This morning Judge Singh had sought clarification from police prosecutor Farrukh Gul Qaisrani about Whitley's testimony, after it appeared she and Namkung had identified separate attackers.

Namkung had earlier said he was punched during the melee by a man wearing a red hat while he attempted to calm a man grasping a barstool.

However, Pilditch said Namkung had misidentified the 1.88m Webster as his assailant.

He said a "persistent feature" of Namkung's evidence was that he'd been attacked by a mystery man in a red cap.

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"While Webster was there, there is a significant risk that he is being misidentified by Mr Namkung," Pilditch said.

Webster was wearing a black Chicago White Sox baseball hat on the night of the affray.

Judge Singh asked: "Nobody has been identified as the person in the red hat?"

"Nobody has identified who this person is," Pilditch replied.

The lawyer added it was likely the "stocky man" described as the person who lifted the bar stool was the same man who assaulted Namkung.

He said the stocky man was also said to be wearing shorts, but Webster was wearing trousers.

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Pilditch called Namkung's evidence an "unreliable identification".

After the brawl, Namkung identified Webster as his attacker when presented a police line-up of photos.

However, Pilditch argued this was a case of circumstance "creating the subconscious of involvement".

"It's one of the reasons we don't have dock identifications anymore," he said.

Judge Singh said: "I have an unease about the description from the witnesses; about who did the punching."

The judge also questioned Qaisrani about Whitley's evidence, but the prosecutor said his witness was confused when recalling the brawl.

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"Are you impeaching your own witness, are you saying she was a hostile witness?" The judge asked. "Are you saying I should not believe her evidence?"

Qaisrani replied that Whitley's evidence should be considered in the appropriate context.

Yesterday, the court was also shown Webster's police interview with arresting officer Constable Davide Mella just hours after the fight.

The former Breaker said he'd been accused of assault because of his athletic fame.

"I didn't hit anyone," the shooting guard said. "I never threw one punch.

"I play basketball. Do you think I would punch someone over in a bar when I ... that's my job and people know me, do you think I'd do some dumbass sh*t like that?"

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On Tuesday, musician Michael Tilton claimed Webster pulled at his Santa-like beard several times as he collected donations at the pub for Starship Hospital's Shaving Santa fundraiser.

Pilditch has said the beard pulling was a playful joke and his client and Tilton "gave each other a high-five" afterwards.

Webster has denied both assault charges. One count of assault with intent to injure was dismissed after the prosecution failed to summon the complainant to court for the trial.

One of New Zealand's top basketball players, Webster was invited to play in the NBA's summer league this year with the Dallas Mavericks, two years after he played in NBA pre-season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Earlier this year the guard had been playing with the champion Wellington Saints in New Zealand's basketball league where he was named the 2017 MVP and season's top scorer.

The trial continues.

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