Editorial: Rough justice well earned

OPINION: We had better say this right from the start: the Waikato Times does not support vigilante action in the community. Or in more basic parlance: kids, don't try this at home.

However, there is no doubt that one of the most enjoyable reads in the Waikato Times last week was the story about the rough justice handed out to the ringleader of a South Auckland gang of men who caused mayhem in the Waikato last March. When Richard Afu appeared in the Huntly District Court for sentencing on a charge of disorderly assembly, he was bloodied and shaken. He had been set upon outside the court and given a beating.

Judge Denise Clark sentenced Afu to 200 hours' community work and ordered him to pay $190 for his role in the so-called party bus trip to Hamilton, where Afu and a group of friends went on a brawling rampage.

Judge Clark also condemned the courthouse attack, saying "no-one has the right to take matters into their own hands". But we think even she will have been privately smirking at Afu's fate.

Remember, he was the leader of an awful incident that will have badly traumatised a number of Waikato people. Thirty-six Papakura men came on a pub crawl to Hamilton. Two men they came upon were left with broken jaws on Victoria St after an assault outside Bar 101. Police came but couldn't identify the culprits among so many and sent them packing back to Auckland. But they stopped at Ngaruawahia's Delta Tavern, with more than 15 passengers forcing their way into the bar and conducting an horrific series of assaults caught on security footage. Bar stools were used to attack patrons and smash property. Afu was caught on camera throwing a bar stool.

As is often the case in situations of mass affray, pinpointing the culprits was difficult. Only a couple faced charges and Afu's disorderly assembly charge was a sop, as was Judge Clark's community service sentence.

The up to 10 Ngaruawahia men who waited for Afu last week are clearly no angels. They were said to be members of the gang the Tribal Huks and the attack was premeditated. They may well face charges if witnesses are brave enough to step forward. So they should.

Unfortunately though, their lesson to Afu is likely to have been something he understood far better than the slap on the wrist he received in court. Afu's victims probably feel the same.

Perhaps it is giving into our need for revenge when we think like this. Society would be a much poorer place if this behaviour was repeated across all sectors. However, even members of the judiciary know when just deserts have been handed out. A judge in New Plymouth recently gave two men suspended sentences after they admitted assaulting a man. The man they attacked was a regular in Judge Roberts' court and had threatened their wife/mother. The judge even called the victim a "radish".

So let's not over-analyse things in the Afu case. One bad boy got dealt to by a few more. Good job.

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