Young soldier jailed over assault

A young soldier smashed a fellow military man over the head with a glass bottle. File image

A young soldier who hit a fellow military man over the head with a glass bottle to see if the vessel would smash like it does in the movies will stay in uniform.

Private Sosaia Filimoemaka also bullied two freshmen solders into drinking with him and the prosecution at a Court Martial at Linton Military Camp near Palmerston North today said he should be booted out of the army.

Instead the 24-year-old was sentenced to three months' detention in a military prison.

Before Judge Duncan Harvey and a military panel, Private Filimoemaka admitted three charges, including assault with a weapon.

"This type of behaviour within the New Zealand Defence Force is completely and utterly unacceptable," the judge told him, although he said the court accepted Private Filimoemaka's remorse and efforts to rehabilitate.

His lawyer Paul Murray successfully argued for his retention in the army, pointing to a string of positive references.

Private Filimoemaka became emotional when he read a statement, speaking about his tough and poor upbringing in South Auckland and his "lowest point" last year.

In sentencing, Judge Harvey said the court took into account what was going on in Private Filimoemaka's life.

He was struggling with a broken leg suffered playing rugby, which saw him declared medically unfit for deployment and staring at a medical discharge.

Private Filimoemaka said the army was not supporting him well and on top of that a childhood friend was shot and killed, while another died from cancer.

"I turned to drinking to make me happy."

Judge Harvey said Private Filimoemaka's treatment after his injury was a concern and contributed to his turning to alcohol.

Also last year he was assaulted by gang members when out in town one night and stabbed four times with a knife and broken bottle.

He was punched by a gang member, who he followed from a bar. Other soldiers trailed him to an alleyway, and watched when he was outnumbered and set upon.

"I was devastated to see a lot of soldiers stand around just watching," Private Filimoemaka said.

"The soldiers who watched me get punched and stabbed came to my room a week later and apologised for just watching. I accepted their apology because I'm still alive and that's all that matters."

He asked to be retained by the army, which he joined in 2011, and said he hoped to represent both it and New Zealand in boxing. He said he'd changed and apologised to his victims, asking for their forgiveness.

"The army is a place to save me from going to prison," he said.

"I take full responsibility for this and I know I must be punished."

A summary of the offending says in the early hours of November 22, Private Filimoemaka hit another private, who was sweeping up rubbish outside a barracks at Linton, over the head with a glass bottle after calling him a "pogue" - military slang for non-combatants.

When interviewed by military police, Private Filimoemaka said he was interested to see if the bottle would smash, as it did in movies.

He said when he was drinking, he developed a dislike of those not in the infantry division.

His victim was treated at hospital for a head wound.

The other incident happened on the night of November 4.

Private Filimoemaka told two privates, who were new to the army and didn't attend a meeting he'd called about cleaning duties because they were at a camp-site bar, they could either drink with him or "get knocked out" or "thrashed".

The two privates "reluctantly" chose to drink with Private Filimoemaka and the trio bought 24 stubbies and a cask of wine from a supermarket - more alcohol than regulations allowed soldiers to possess.

After again being threatened, one of the two other privates drank until he vomited.