Court told of attack on baby

A woman has told a court her ex-partner shook, choked and threatened to kill her 3-month-old baby after she refused to give him a love bite. File photo / NZ Herald

A woman has told a court her ex-partner shook, choked and threatened to kill her 3-month-old baby after she refused to give him a love bite.

Shaun David Reg Pareti Kohinga is on trial before Judge James Weir and a jury in the Rotorua District Court, accused of assaulting the baby and threatening to kill her on May 29 last year.

Before the trial began on Monday, 19-year-old Kohinga pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure and threatening to kill his former partner Neila Rangihuna-Atkins on the same day.

Ms Rangihuna-Atkins spoke quietly and wept as she gave evidence, telling the court the pair had been together about two years when the alleged assault occurred.

She said they had argued on May 28 and he left the house.

He returned with a group of friends about 5 am the next day and about 6am woke her up, demanding she give him a love bite on the neck.

Ms Rangihuna-Atkins said she refused and he began choking her as the baby slept on a pillow beside her.

The baby started to cry and Kohinga pulled the infant by her legs to the bottom of the bed where he started choking her and yelled at her to be quiet, Ms Rangihuna-Atkins told the court.

Kohinga then threatened to kill the child and told the mother to leave the room. She refused.

"He said he didn't want her to be born and to die," Ms Rangihuna-Atkins said.

"I wasn't going to watch her die."

Kohinga's cousin then came in to the room and intervened.

Crown prosecutor Sarah-Louise Tapsell told the jury Kohinga had referred to the baby as "that ugly thing" and punched the woman repeatedly during the ordeal.

- APN