A man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter over an unprovoked attack outside a rugby clubroom in Taranaki.
Daytona Thompson fatally punched Daniel Nganeko last month.
A big crowd gathered outside the High Court at New Plymouth for Friday’s hearing, many wearing white t-shirts bearing the image of Nganeko and the slogan “March for Daniel, March for Change”.
About 200 people attended a rally earlier calling for the introduction of new coward punch law to be fast tracked.
Te Uraura Nganeko, who is the father of Daniel Nganeko, spoke to the crowd who gathered at the Tukapa Rugby Club, where his son was fatally assaulted.
He told them Daniel’s death in such circumstances should be the last.
Lawyers for 22-year-old Thompson asked that a restorative justice conference be considered.
He was remanded in custody until his sentencing in October.
Another of those taking part in the march was Ben Leng who spent a week in a coma after being blindsided by “sort of a coward’s punch” by a New Plymouth bouncer last December.
In June, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government would legislate to ensure coward punches were treated as a specific offence and sentences reflected 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.
rnz.co.nz
