Breach of urinal etiquette leads to assault

A Kaiapoi man punched a man twice in the toilet of a central Christchurch bar because he committed "a breach of urinal etiquette", a court was told today.

Edward Trevor Aldridge, 47, pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court to assault and Judge Raoul Neave told him: "This sort of behaviour would be immature in teenagers or small children. This is exactly the sort of behaviour that makes people afraid to go to town."

Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Butcher said the victim went gone to the Rock Pool bar with friends on December 16.

When he went to the toilet, he used a urinal next to Aldridge who accused him of looking at him and punched him twice in the face.

Defence counsel Liz Bulger told the court: "This incident arose from a breach of what I understand to be urinal etiquette.

"When (the victim) spoke to the defendant he was effectively smirking. The defendant was outraged."

She said Aldridge was a beneficiary who could not afford to pay anything to the victim for emotional harm.

Judge Neave sentenced him to 50 hours of community work, added to a 300-hour sentence he is already doing.