Christchurch man admits racial attack

A fiery 21-year-old talked himself into a week in jail with an extraordinary outburst in Christchurch District Court today.

The skinny redbeard was even shaping up to fight the three large policemen lined up behind the dock.

"Which one of you is it?" he asked, before Judge Peter Rollo urged him to "simmer down".

His name can't be published because of the admissions he made in the dock.

They would not impress a jury. They certainly didn't impress Judge Rollo.

The unemployed man had been picked up for breaching his bail, and for two assaults in Dunedin.

All was going well and he was about to be released on bail again, until he heard that the judge was making it a bail condition that he not drink alcohol.

That wasn't on. If he couldn't drink, his girlfriend would also not drink. "She gets agitated when she can't drink. I'm a happy drunk, not a violent drunk."

He would not get into more trouble. His new girlfriend had threatened to leave if he got more charges.

"I just had a bad day," he explained. "My (previous) girlfriend cheated on me with a gook and I saw a gook so I smacked him." He explained to the judge that a gook was "an Asian guy".

Judge Rollo said his record included four breaches of bail, two breaches of community work, two breaches of supervision, and breach of a trespass order. "You can't be relied on to comply with bail conditions."

Red-beard announced he would renounce all alcohol when he realised he was heading for the cells, for a remand in custody until November 15, but it was far too late.

He said he was only there because a judge "screwed up" his bail conditions a few days ago.

"You have screwed up now," Judge Rollo told him.

The encounter ended without any violence in court.

- NZPA