Tagiilima Auga coward punches partner on side of the head, rendering her unconscious

Tagiilima Auga, 38, was sentenced to a mixture of community detention and intensive supervision after coward hitting his former partner during a night out in Hamilton. Photo / 123rf

Tagiilima Ateli Auga was drunk and angry that his former partner was trying to walk away from him so he struck her on the side of the head, knocking her unconscious..

Members of the public ran to the woman’s aid and to protect her from Auga until emergency services arrived on Hamilton’s Victoria St early on June 26, 2022.

Today the 38-year-old appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court on charges of injuring with intent to injure and breach of a protection order.

Auga was out on the town drinking with the victim but by about 3.30am she was concerned he was “getting aggressive”.

She tried to leave by walking away from him, but Auga grabbed her from behind to try and stop her.

The victim was unable to break free so she turned and hit him in the head to try and free herself.

Auga then punched the victim on the left side of her jaw with a closed fist, sending her to the ground, where she remained unconscious for a few seconds.

She was treated at Waikato Hospital.

The victim suffered a strain to her jaw and neck, which had caused ongoing pain.

When questioned by police, Auga said he only pushed her and did so because she was hitting him in the head.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said the assault left her feeling “sad, nervous and degraded” and “very emotional because it was my partner who did this”.

Judge Garry Collin lambasted Auga for his actions.

“No woman should ever feel unsafe when they are with their partner.

“You are a strong man. You effectively king-hit her and as a result she fell to the pavement.”

He said it was fortunate that members of the public ran to protect her from him at the time, as “it could have been worse for her and would have been worse for you”.

Judge Collin was also unimpressed that it took Auga so long to plead guilty.

“It occurred, effectively, at the last moment.

“There was a slight amendment to the charge ... but it still had a five-year maximum [prison sentence] and the summary of facts was not changed.”

In light of that, he refused to give any credit for Auga’s admission to either charge, including the breach of protection order charge “as there was little or no defence to it”.

“The charges were laid in July 2022. You didn’t plead guilty until your trial in September 2024.

“So she had, for two years and two months, this hanging over her ... that she would need to give evidence.”

He took a starting point of 15 months' jail before giving him credit for the fact he’d completed a rehabilitative programme and had a limited criminal history.

Judge Collin sentenced Auga to five months’ community detention and 12 months’ intensive supervision, which he would judicially monitor.

“Hopefully you won’t see me again,” the judge told him.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.