A man was left disfigured by a drunk man who hit him in the head with a metal bar.
Michael Johan Larsen, 25, was sentenced to three-years' prison when he appeared in Wanganui District Court this week.
The court was told the victim had been talking to Larsen's girlfriend ata social gathering before Larsen hit him twice in the head with a 1kg a socket wrench extension in November last year.
The victim suffered a cut to the chin requiring 15 stitches, a cut to the inside of his mouth requiring 12 stitches, a cut to his temple requiring five stitches, lost two teeth and broke a third in half, and his lower teeth were knocked loose, requiring them to be wired.
In his victim impact report, he said he had scarring from the cuts and the damage inside his mouth was far from healed. Extensive future dental work would be required and his bottom lip would be permanently disfigured.
Defence counsel Mark Bullock said Larsen was grossly intoxicated at the time and did not have a clear recollection of the events leading up to it.
It was not an excuse, but explained why an ordinarily reasonable young man would behave in the way he did, reacting to what he perceived to be provocation, real or imagined.
