Judge jails man for assault on Asian couple

A man who assaulted a Hong Kong couple in a frightening attack in Oamaru has been sent to prison.

Ryan Lane Atkinson, 27, unemployed, of Oamaru, was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for assault and using threatening language relating to the September 27 incident when he appeared before Judge Paul Kellar in the Oamaru District Court yesterday.

Judge Kellar said Atkinson taunted and abused the couple with racial slurs before following them across the street and lashing out, punching the man in the jaw and on the side of the head.

The woman tried to get in between the two men and pushed Atkinson away when he tried to punch her partner again.

Atkinson told the woman he wanted to punch her too and raised his fist towards her.

The man raised his arm to protect the woman and was punched again. The couple retreated to a nearby backpackers where police were called.

Counsel David Rusbatch said Atkinson had recently separated with this partner at the time of the incident and was intoxicated and venting his anger and frustration.

He denied it was a racially-motivated attack.

"He did not react well to that relationship coming to an end and turned to alcohol as some sort of consolation.

"He has come across the victims in town here and he has, through a combination of alcohol and frustration from the relationship coming to an end, looked at venting.

"It could have been anybody. It had nothing to do with the race of these particular victims, just who was in the proximity at the time.

"They bore the brunt of what occurred."

He said the assault was on the lower scale and was over in a relatively short period of time.

Judge Paul Kellar said the assault did not reflect well on Atkinson or the time the couple had spent in Oamaru.

"You've got to be held accountable for this."

"I don't accept they just happened to be an Asian couple that happened to be the victims of this offending."

Atkinson had previously admitted a dislike of Asian people, saying "everybody has ... problems with Asians", Judge Kellar said.

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