More jail time for Hawea's killer

The man who killed Rotorua principal Hawea Vercoe may have had his jail sentence extended, but the victim's mother says he is "lucky".
Mr Vercoe's mother Rosalind Vercoe was pleased to learn 21-year-old Isaiah Johnson Richard Tai had his jail time increased from two years and 10 months to four-and-a-half years for a fatal attack on her son.
The 36-year-old Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Rotoiti principal and first-term Bay of Plenty Regional councillor was killed in Whakatane just over a year ago.
Mr Vercoe died last November 22 after being attacked by Tai, an Opotiki orchard worker, outside a Whakatane bar.
Tai punched Mr Vercoe in the head with force outside the Quart Bar, causing Mr Vercoe to fall to the ground. As he lay unconscious, Tai ran at him and kicked him forcefully in the head. Mr Vercoe died a short time later at Whakatane Hospital from serious head injuries without regaining consciousness.
In June, Tai was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced in the High Court at Rotorua to two years and 10 months' prison.
Solicitor General David Collins appealed the sentence, saying it was "manifestly inadequate".
The attack was intentional, unprovoked and gratuitous, and Tai showed no remorse toward the man he had rendered defenceless, Mr Collins said.
In a Court of Appeal decision released yesterday, Justices Robert Chambers, Terence Arnold and Rhys Harrison said sentencing judge Justice Judith Potter erred when adopting a starting point of four years six months.
A starting point of seven years was more appropriate and "could not have been challenged", they said.
They quashed the original sentence, replacing it with one of four years and six months' prison.
"We are satisfied that it is the lowest sentence that could reasonably be sanctioned in all the circumstances of this case."
The Vercoe family had campaigned for an increase in Tai's prison time, collecting 400 signatures on a petition calling for the sentence to be appealed.
Mr Vercoe's aunt, Rihi Vercoe, said a sentence of 20 years should be mandatory for taking a person's life. The original sentence cheapened the life of an aspiring Maori leader and father of six, she said.
Speaking to The Daily Post yesterday, Mr Vercoe's mother said the family was pleased Tai's sentence had been increased but she felt it was "still quite a light sentence for what happened".
"We're happy that the appeal court recognised that the original sentence was far too low," Mrs Vercoe said.
"We have to accept what the Appeal Court has given down."
However, she said Tai was lucky not to have been given an even longer sentence.
Sensible Sentencing Rotorua spokesman Peter Bentley agreed.
Although he thought the manslaughter charge deserved more jail time, he said the appeal sentence was twice as good as the original sentence.
"It's got to be double as good as the original sentence, but it's still not enough," Mr Bentley said.
"It was an intentional punch and an intentional kick to the head, it's hardly an accident that resulted in his death."
- additional reporting by NZPA