Flaming-cocktail man pleads guilty

A man yesterday admitted throwing methylated spirits over a flaming cocktail in a Wellington bar as a prank, badly burning a woman.

Jed Curtis, 21, pleaded guilty in the Wellington District Court to disfiguring the woman with reckless disregard for her safety. He was remanded for sentencing in November.

The court was told a barman at the Maya Bar performed a trick setting fire to some liquor on the bar. Curtis added meths to the flames.

The woman, standing nearby, suffered burns to her face, hands, chest and neck. She was in hospital for 10 days and needed skin grafts.

- NZPA