Tupufia Faulau, 58, was been charged with murder following the death of a 69-year-old who as injured at his Māngere East home in October. Photo / NZME
Tupufia Faulau, 58, was been charged with murder following the death of a 69-year-old who as injured at his Māngere East home in October. Photo / NZME
Name suppression has lapsed for a South Auckland factory hand accused of fatally assaulting a 69-year-old man at his Māngere East home in October.
He is 58-year-old Tupufia Fualau.
Fualau made his first High Court appearance, via audio-video link, for the murder charge today.
He did not address Justice SallyFitzgerald directly, because a Samoan interpreter was not provided for the hearing, but he had earlier instructed defence lawyer Michael Kan to plead not guilty for him.
Fualau was initially arrested in October for a charge of wounding with intent. The charge was upgraded last month to murder.
Emergency services were called to the 69-year-old man's Māngere East home early in the morning on October 24. They found him critically injured from what appeared to be an assault, police have previously said.
The man died at Middlemore Hospital that night, authorities said.
