Judge and counsel puzzled over verdict

By David Clarkson

Two lawyers and a judge have been left scratching their heads over a jury’s verdicts in a domestic violence trial.

The Crown and defence had approached the trial of Whetu Amai on three charges on an “all-or-nothing” basis. The trial had been transferred from Christchurch to Timaru.

But the jury came back with not guilty verdicts on charges of threatening to kill his ex-partner and assaulting her, but convicted Amai on a charge of breaching the woman’s protection order.

Amai is now back in prison serving another term for separate offending.

Complicating yesterday’s sentencing was the news that the woman is keen to resume to relationship with 49-year-old Amai when he is released from prison.

She declined to co-operate in providing the sentencing judge, Judge John Macdonald, with a victim impact statement.

Amai is considering whether to continue the relationship, with his parole due to be considered at a hearing in September.

Judge Macdonald told him: “I don’t want to tell you how to live your life but think carefully about that, given your past offending.”

Prosecutor Marcus Zintl said the Crown believed Amai’s sentence should be increased because of his offending while on bail and his prior offending.

Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger said Amai was “ambivalent” about resuming the relationship with the victim.

She acknowledged: “The verdicts were a bit unusual, to say the least.”

Judge Macdonald told Amai, “Both counsel were somewhat puzzled by these verdicts. Surely you should have been found guilty on all three or acquitted on all three.”

Amai had recorded what happened in the incident on a dictaphone and had erased it afterwards. However, the recording was able to be retrieved and the jury was able to hear the whole incident, including the alleged threat to kill.

“How they reached the verdict on that charge in particular is unclear. I am not going to say anything further about that. Perhaps you should be grateful to Miss Bulger about that.”

Since the incident, Amai has been jailed for three years for intentionally injuring someone – a charge arising from a separate incident – and is still serving that jail term.

He said that during the domestic violence incident, Amai had threatened to use a rock as a weapon to smash the woman’s head.

He noted that Amai was due to appear before the Parole Board in September, by which time he is expected to have completed a drug treatment programme at Otago Prison.

He imposed four months’ imprisonment which will be added to Amai’s current sentence.