Warning: this story involves descriptions of violence and mental health issues that some may find disturbing.
The woman responsible for a brutal and racist bus attack in 2024 set fire to a building a year later and has lasting burns to her face and body.
Ioana Joanna Jessica Kariki (also known as Ioana Tokotini) has admitted bashing Chinese-New Zealander Jason, who was then 16, with a metal rod, knocking out five of his teeth, on an Auckland bus.
Jason, who wishes to go only by his first name, told NZME in 2024 that Kariki yelled racial slurs at him before attacking him, unprovoked.
The following year, court documents show Kariki set fire to a room in a three-storey apartment block in Pakuranga, East Auckland, and was rescued from the burning building in a critical condition.
She was found not guilty of the arson because she was deemed insane at the time.
In Manukau District Court yesterday, Judge Richard McIlraith, the Crown, lawyers and doctors all tried to work out the best sentence for Kariki on charges of wounding and arson.
They sought to determine a sentence that would penalise Kariki for her “nasty” attack on a vulnerable person and protect the community from further harm, but also provide her with appropriate mental health treatment, the judge said.
Jason told NZME that on the morning of June 28, 2024, he was on a bus to Panmure in East Auckland.
When the bus had just passed Pakuranga Plaza, Kariki got up and started verbally abusing Jason, before she attacked him.
He lost three teeth and two more were left broken from the assault.
Jason said despite there being about 10 people on the bus, only one person stood up to help him: An elderly man.
“A 75-year-old gentleman at the back helped me to control the woman and get in the middle.”
Kariki jumped off the bus at the Williams Ave bus stop in Pakuranga and ran away.
“We shouted at the driver, ‘Don’t open the door’, but he opened the door and [Kariki] ran away.”
Jason had been living in New Zealand for seven years, almost half his life, and said this was the first time he had experienced a racially motivated attack.
Crown lawyer Samuel Cox told Judge McIlraith at a previous hearing that Kariki had a history of doing really well while living in the community.
But, when she “comes off” her medication, she is a danger to herself and others, Cox said.
Back in court yesterday, Cox agreed there was a connection between Kariki’s mental health issues and her attack on the boy.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Krishna Pillai appeared in court via audio visual link to explain his assessment of Kariki.
He said Kariki had very significant health problems which had been present for many years, featuring many hospital admissions and compulsory treatment orders.
The psychiatrist highlighted Kariki’s high mental health needs, as well as physical health needs due to the burns from the fire.
After being in psychological treatment for around a year, the doctor noted Kariki had shown “good and appropriate” empathy to her victim and remorse for her offending.
Kariki’s lawyer Daniel Tamihau said although his client was not found to be insane at the time of the bus attack, her poor mental health was a justification.
The judge described the attack as a “nasty situation”.
“You were not well and you attacked that man on the bus with a metal bar,” he said.
“[The victim] suffered.
“He was vulnerable, he was sitting on the bus, and I note that he was only 16 years old at the time.”
Setting fire to a room had caused Kariki injury to herself and “quite a lot of damage”, the judge added.
Pillai explained the types of mental health orders and sentences that could be made.
Kariki was to be sentenced for the wounding charge while the arson could only be “disposed of” with mental health orders.
Pillai said the judge could go down two routes; he could order Kariki to a compulsory treatment order, which would be tethered only to the length of the sentence for the wounding charge.
This meant, if her doctors assessed she was no longer a danger to herself and the public, she could go back to being treated out in the community.
But Cox warned he was anticipating a sentence of around two years for the wounding charge, which would mean Kariki could be back out in the community in a month or so, with time served.
The other option was, in disposing with the arson, to detain Kariki under a special patient order, which meant she could only be released into the community with permission from the Minister of Health.
The judge chose a mixture of both.
For the attack on Jason, he sentenced Kariki to 23 months’ imprisonment and ordered that sentence be carried out at a secure mental health facility.
She was made a special patient for that charge as well.
In terms of the arson, she was again made a special patient.
The judge said the sentence “balanced the need” to help Kariki overall.
Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice related stories.