Wellington man sentenced for causing victim to lose eye in Te Aro Park scuffle

Victor Te Pania was drinking in Te Aro Park when the victim started arguing with him. Photo / Google

An 11-second scuffle in a central Wellington park caused one man to lose an eye and left another with a conviction for wounding.

Victor Jason Te Pania was today sentenced to home detention for stabbing the victim in the eye in a case of "excessive self defence".

Te Pania, 48, was drinking with a friend in Te Aro Park in Wellington on October 14, 2020, when the victim approached and confronted him over allegedly drinking with a member of an opposing gang, the summary of facts said.

The pair began arguing, with Te Pania eventually pulling out a knife and brandishing it at the victim.

The victim then kicked Te Pania in the legs, knocking him to the ground.

"The victim ran over to the defendant and kicked and punched him while the defendant's back was on the ground," the summary said.

The victim ended up on top of the defendant, at which point Te Pania stabbed him in the right eye.

Other members of the public then pulled the victim off Te Pania, and one of them hit the victim with a walking stick.

He suffered an incision to his eyeball and ended up losing his eye as a result of the stabbing.

"The entire melee lasted only 11 seconds," said the man's defence lawyer, Letizea Ord, at his sentencing in the Wellington District Court today.

She said her client "wasn't the aggressor" and noted Te Pania had tried to end the argument by turning his back and walking away. The fight happened after about eight minutes of "verbal aggression".

"Mr Te Pania was underneath the melee and was being attacked by the complainant."

After nearly two years, with Te Pania set to go to trial for the stabbing, he pleaded guilty at the last minute to wounding with reckless disregard.

The court heard today the victim was seeking emotional harm reparation, but Judge Bruce Davidson declined to order any.

"I'm not too sure it's appropriate, to be honest, given what I saw of the incident itself," he said.

He referred to Te Pania's actions as "a classic case of excessive self-defence".

Judge Davidson allowed discounts to Te Pania's sentence for his guilty pleas, bail compliance, and "fairly settled circumstances in the community".

He sentenced Te Pania to seven months of home detention.

He also ordered 40 hours of community work for an unrelated charge of driving while disqualified, relating to an indefinite disqualification imposed 24 years ago. He encouraged Te Pania to seek help with documentation and steps to end the indefinite disqualification.