-Whakatāne Beacon

A man attacked and robbed outside The Warehouse in Whakatāne for wearing a red cap feared he was going to die as he was punched and kicked unconscious by four men.

The man, who has cerebral palsy affecting one side of his body, was coward punched by Tuxedo Ponini-Kara, 30, who took exception to the red cap he was wearing.

Shane Tamihana Mulafia, 37, joined in the attack, along with two other men, Rai Taimanu and Hamiora Moeke.

In the Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday, Ponini-Kara and Mulafia were sentenced to 24 months in prison for aggravated robbery, with no leave to apply for home detention.

Both men have been in custody since the February 9 attack and appeared for sentencing via audio visual link.

In sentencing, Judge Louis Bidois said this was unprovoked gang violence – “gang pack mentality at work” – on a vulnerable victim who couldn’t defend himself.

He referenced a victim impact statement in which the man, whose injuries included severe bruising, swelling and a haematoma, told how the attack lasted a long time and he thought he was going to be killed.

The man had been at the Warehouse carpark with another person in the mid-afternoon.

Ponini-Kara approached him from behind and coward punched him to the side of the head, knocking him down and stealing his red baseball cap.

The man was then punched by Mulafia, who forcibly took his bag containing $1012.

Taimanu joined in, kicking and punching the man on the ground, pulling his shorts down and stealing his wallet.

Moeke also kicked the man on the ground, with Taimanu continuing to slap him around the head.

It was Mulafia who rendered the man unconscious with a final punch.

Lawyer Rebecca Plunket, who represented Ponini-Kara and Mulafia at sentencing, said the attack was not pre-meditated.

Ponini-Kara saw the victim wearing the red cap and mistakenly believed he was associated with a rival gang.

“He considered it offensive and that’s why he threw the first punch,” she said.

After that punch, his involvement was limited to verbal encouragement of the others.

Taimanu and Moeke have already been sentenced for their part in the aggravated robbery and are serving home detention sentences of nine and eight months, respectively.

The men have each been ordered to pay reparation of $253 for the money stolen.