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Two Christchurch chefs accused of raping a 17-year-old girl are considering seeking compensation after serving 18 months in prison and enduring two trials.
One of the accused was beaten up by a fellow inmate while in jail.
Their third trial was aborted on Monday, when the alleged victim refused to give evidence against the pair again.
Kirti Ram and Manish Tyagi, both chefs at the Two Fat Indians restaurant, had maintained their innocence since being charged with rape and sexual violation in 2005.
The men were found guilty in 2006 but the verdicts were overturned and a retrial ordered due to a legal technicality. In the second trial, the jury acquitted the chefs of a handful of charges but could not reach a verdict on the remaining nine, leading to the aborted third trial.
Ram's lawyer, James Rapley, said his client was thrilled to be free but was suffering the effects of having spent 18 months in prison.
Ram had been assaulted by an inmate and had suffered permanent injuries, including hearing loss and the loss of several teeth.
"He is a shadow of the man I first met three years ago," Mr Rapley told The Press.
"This has been incredibly hard on him and he has aged badly."
He said he planned to investigate a claim for compensation.
Simon Shamy, Tyagi's lawyer, confirmed he was also considering a compensation bid.
Mr Rapley said he had sympathy for the alleged victim but that prosecutors had erred by pressing ahead with a third trial.
"At that stage, given that there had been two trials already, considerable stress for everyone and the men had spent 18 months in jail, why proceed and put the complainant through all that stress again?"
- NZPA
