Man who bashed neighbour for peeping on his wife must serve jail term

A man has had his appeal dismissed after he was jailed for attacking his neighbour. Photo / File

A man who lay in wait before attacking his neighbour with a piece of wood for spying on his wife while she was showering will spend two and a half years in prison after his appeal was dismissed.

Mohammed Rafiq was convicted of injuring his neighbour Jitendra Singh with intent to injure at the Manukau District Court and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Rafiq appealed the decision but it was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

According to the summary of facts, Rafiq and his wife were neighbours of Singh, who lived alone in the same apartment block.

Rafiq's wife occasionally provided meals to Singh and they also exchanged messages over Facebook.

The night before the attack, Singh had gone to Rafiq's home to return a container from one of the meals. Rafiq was at work but his wife was home.

There was no answer at the door so Singh went to the rear of the apartment, and through a window he was able to see Rafiq's wife showering.

Rafiq's wife saw that Singh could see her and became upset. Singh also sent her some "sexually suggestive' text messages afterwards.

Rafiq's wife told Rafiq about what had happened later that night.

The next morning, as Singh was taking his rubbish out, Rafiq struck him several times with a piece of wood, hard enough to break the wood.

Singh said he fell to the ground during the attack, and while on the ground Rafiq punched and kicked him while wearing work boots.

Singh suffered swelling and bruising to his face, a black eye and a split lip which required stitches. He also lost a tooth.

Singh tried to escape the attack by returning to his apartment but Rafiq followed him inside. Singh managed to lock himself in his bedroom.

Soon after the incident Rafiq phoned the police alleging his apartment had been burgled by Singh.

Rafiq's defence at trial was that he was acting in self defence or had made a citizen's arrest of Singh. That explanation was rejected by the jury.