Man jailed after stabbing friend in drunken rage

File photo / NZ Herald

An albino Samoan man who stabbed his friend in a drunken rage after he was teased about cooking has been jailed for 4-1/2 years.

Viane John Kisona, 52, had been drinking with friends at his Auckland home in September last year when the stabbing took place.

It left the friend with permanent nerve damage to his arm, but Kisona was granted some sympathy in the Auckland District Court this morning, because of his albinism, which meant he had been bullied and teased all his life.

The court was told that about 1.15am on September 22, Kisona prepared some food for two women in the group, when one of the men joked that he made the food for him instead.

"You took offence, and went into your bedroom, coming out a short time later carrying a large kitchen knife," Judge Chris Field said.

Kisona stood behind his friend, who was sitting at the dining table, shouted his name and stabbed him with the knife, Judge Field said.

He stabbed him three times before the friend managed to block his arm and a struggle ensued, in which they both wrestled for the knife.

Other friends in the house broke up the fight, and the man was taken to hospital where he was treated for cuts to his neck and arm and face.

The 4cm slice to his left forearm was so deep it severed the nerve, and left the man with numbness and weakness in his left hand.

Judge Field described the attack as a "serious assault" which under ordinary circumstances would warrant "a very significant term of imprisonment". However, he said Kisona's personal circumstances allowed for some discretion in his sentence.

"This is a most unusual case," he said. "You are a Samoan man of unusual appearance brought about by your albinism, having particular sensitivity to sunlight, and this has affected your vision to the extent that you are legally blind.

"You have been subject to taunts over your different physical appearance, I'm sure, for many years, and the comments made on this occasion I have no doubt were highly provocative."

The albinism had also created a number of other medical conditions, and Judge Field said he believed Kisona would be particularly vulnerable in prison, "liable to bullying and intimidation at the hands of others".

He also took time off his sentence for remorse shown, previous clean record, and early guilty plea. But Judge Field said the fact Kisona had been under the influence of alcohol could not be seen as a mitigating factor.

He was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison for the charge of grievous bodily harm with intent.

Kisona, who stood quietly in the dock throughout his sentencing, gave a brief wave to family members who came to court to support him, before he was taken down to the cells.