Coward punch victims and families call for faster law changes

Taranaki man Ben Leng was given hours to live after a coward punch attack in New Plymouth. Photo / RNZ, Robin Martin

By Robin Martin of RNZ

Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive.

Spread on his kitchen table in rural Taranaki are photos illustrating the impact of what he describes as “the worst day in his life”.

They are photos so harrowing he does not want to share them, but just get on with his life.

In one, he is lying in a hospital bed in an induced coma after being blindsided by “sort of a coward’s punch” thrown by New Plymouth bouncer Taylor Watkins in December last year.

A coward punch, also known as a king hit, is a strike to the head or neck, often delivered from behind, usually unprovoked and without warning.

Another photo shows the gaping wound where surgeons had earlier removed part of his skull to reduce swelling.

The third image is a scan showing the titanium plates now keeping his skull together.

The 29-year-old builder said after the assault his partner and his parents were told he only had hours to live if he did not get emergency surgery.

“Flip of the coin really, it could’ve gone either way, and I’m definitely lucky. And it’s a few things that are keeping me positive, and that’s one of them, that I’m still here.”

Leng said the experience was toughest on those close to him.

“My partner was seven months pregnant with our first child. My parents ... don’t talk to Mum about it because she still gets moved by it.

“It was the hardest thing they’ve had to go through in terms of seeing their son almost be a dad and then almost get taken away from them. That’s probably the hardest thing that they could ever see.”

Leng, who is now focused on being the best dad and partner he could be, is joining calls for the faster introduction of new laws, including harsher penalties for coward punches.

He will take part in a march in New Plymouth on Friday, organised by the family of Daniel Nganeko.

Te Uraura Nganeko speaking of his son Daniel Nganeko at the coward punch rally in New Plymouth this morning. Photo / RNZ, Robin Martin

The 37-year-old died after being punched outside the Tukapa Rugby clubrooms, in what police described as an unprovoked attack. His head struck the footpath.

Daytona Thompson, 22, has been charged with manslaughter and was due to appear in court on the same day.

Leng said on the night he was assaulted, December 28, 2024, he and his brother Max and some rugby mates from England had been out drinking in New Plymouth.

He admits he had been misbehaving and tried to enter a bar with a couple of pre-mixed drinks in his pocket and had been refused entry, then later got into a fight with security after trying to re-enter the bar to retrieve his mates after ditching his drinks.

The police summary of facts said after the initial fight, Watkins and another bouncer followed the Leng brothers as they walked away from the bar and continued to argue with them.

“Without warning the defendant swung a punch with a closed left fist hitting Leng in the jaw. Due to the nature of the punch Leng was unable to defend himself.

“The punch caused Leng to immediately lose consciousness and drop to the ground. When he dropped to the ground, Leng’s head impacted with the concrete paved ground with an audible sound.”

Watkins admitted a charge of injuring in circumstances that if death had occurred he would have been charged with manslaughter. Last week, he was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention and ordered to pay $15,000 in reparations to Leng.

After the attack, Leng was in a coma for seven days, followed by four days in ICU and two and a half weeks in a brain rehab centre.

“I got taken straight to Taranaki Base Hospital, and then when they saw the severity of the brain injury ... I literally had 15 to 18 hours, which would have been death, unless I got surgery. So at 2am roughly, I got transferred via helicopter straight to Wellington, which put me straight into surgery.”

He remembers the surreal experience of waking from the coma.

“No emotion, nothing. I just remember opening my eyes, seeing my parents at my feet with about four nurses, five nurses, and just thinking I was in a movie.

“And not having any emotion because of the head injury, just numb, zero, nothing. Literally not panicked, nothing. It was just like my eyes were open, but nothing was working in my brain.”

Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive. Photo / RNZ, Robin Martin

The once busy builder had not been able to work since the assault and was suspended from driving for six months.

“In terms of like to get back to normal, it’s still ongoing. So that could be a year, it could be two, it could be three. It’s hard to know, really, it’s just day by day, but the first two or three months were the biggest in terms of getting back to reality and figuring out what happened.”

Leng did not think Watkins’ sentence reflected the nature of the offending, especially for someone supposed to be keeping people safe.

“To be allowed to stay at home on 12 months’ home detention at the cost of taxpayers, I just don’t think it suits the seriousness of his actions in terms of how close I came to death.

“A coward’s punch, a king hit, a sucker punch, whatever you want to call it, just shouldn’t be accepted because more often than not, when someone can’t defend themselves, the injuries are going to be a lot more severe.”

Some of those attending Friday's rally calling for stiffer sentences. Photo / RNZ, Robin Martin

In June, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Government would legislate to ensure coward punches were treated as a specific offence and sentences reflected the gravity of the crime.

“We know how dangerous they are. People can be killed or suffer lifelong brain injuries, yet perpetrators often receive lenient and insufficient sentences,” he said.

The new legislation would include:

• An assault offence for one punch attacks which cause grievous bodily harm with associated maximum penalties of eight years imprisonment when the offender intended to cause injury or acted with reckless disregard for safety, or 15 years imprisonment when the offender intended to cause grievous bodily harm.
• A culpable homicide offence for a one punch attack which results in death with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
• Both offences would be added to the Three Strikes legislation.

The legislation fulfils part of National’s coalition agreement with New Zealand First.

The new criminal offences for coward punches were being introduced as part of a Crimes Act amendment Bill which also included a specific offence for attacking a first responder, the new shoplifting infringement regime, strengthened trespass laws and strengthened human trafficking laws.

Goldsmith aimed to introduce the Bill before the end of the year, and have it passed into law before the next general election.

For Leng and the Nganeko family the law change could not come fast enough.