The New Zealand National Party
A new Bill that will create a specific criminal offence for a 'coward punch', or 'king hit' causing injury or death will be introduced to Parliament following a members' bill ballot today, National MP for New Lynn Paulo Garcia says.
"The Crimes Act does not currently include any provision that specifies how to charge an individual who causes serious harm or death as a result of a coward punch. This has led to several prominent cases where violent criminals receive lenient and non-sufficient sentences as a result of the Crown's inability to prove intention.
"For instance, I have heard of an offence where a teenager punched in Christchurch ended up in an induced coma and on life support as a result of a violent offender embarking on an unprovoked attack. That offender was sentenced to nine months of home detention - a punishment not fit for the trauma caused to the victim and his family.
"My Bill would criminalise the specific action of striking a person's head or neck in circumstances where they are not able to defend themselves from a strike. The Crimes Act will be amended so that the offender needs only to have intended to strike the victim's head or neck, or been reckless as to whether that occurred, in order to be charged with this offence.
"The Bill would also amend the definition of murder in the Crimes Act to include occurrence of death in the circumstances covered by this specific offence.
"Similar bills were passed in Australian states over 10 years ago which have worked to disincentivise reckless assault and punish those violent criminals who set out to destroy lives and livelihoods.
"This change will help New Zealanders feel safer and ensure those who coward punch are properly held to account. I will be working across the house to gather the support necessary to have this passed into law.
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