Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announces harsher penalties for one-punch attacks
The government will legislate to ensure coward punches are treated as a specific offence.
Coward punches, also known as king hits, are when strikes are delivered to a victim's head or neck, without warning and when the victim is unable to defend themselves.
Justice minister Paul Goldsmith said specific offences would reflect the gravity of the crime.
"We know how dangerous they are. People can be killed or suffer lifelong brain injuries, yet perpetrators often receive lenient and insufficient sentences," he said.
There were renewed calls to specifically criminalise coward punches in 2021, following the
death of Fau Vake in Auckland
.
In that instance,
Daniel Havili pleaded guilty to manslaughter
, and was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail.
The government's announcement follows a separate piece of legislation announced over the weekend, to introduce
higher penalties for people who assault first responders
.
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