Self-defence in the News - No. 4

What the law says on self defence

What the law says on self defence

By Vaimoana Tapaleao

Wednesday Aug 25, 2010

Under the law, anyone can defend themselves against another person, using force that they believe is appropriate.

That could mean using a weapon - such as a gun, knife or even an umbrella - or fighting an attacker, say criminal defence experts.

Auckland criminal defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb said self-defence was simply proven.

"It could be you're walking down the street and someone comes at you - and you're holding an umbrella - and you instinctively hit them in the eye or any other area to protect yourself ... that's self-defence because you've obviously defended yourself."

Another Auckland criminal defence lawyer, Shane Tait, said people had to prove that the force that they used was appropriate.

"Obviously if a 69-year-old woman is chasing you around the store with a feather, you're not going to go at her with a shotgun and get self-defence," Mr Tait said.

"It's seen as what was reasonable to use - a weapon or fighting back - at the time that an attack happened."

Mr Gotlieb said that in some cases defendants had lost their claim of self-defence.

"It's often cases like at parties where a fight has happened and someone goes and gets a gun or a knife and comes back to join the fight - that is not self-defence."

THE RULES, THE CASES

Crimes Act, Section 48: Defence of oneself in reasonable circumstances. Crimes Act, Section 55: Necessary force to stop someone entering a person's home.

April 2009: The owner of Tokoroa's Aotea Chinese Restaurant and Takeaways, Zhuo Feng Jiang, wrestled a semi-automatic .22 rifle off a masked robber and shot him in the leg. Police decided against charging Mr Jiang.

September 2008: Otara liquor store owner Virender Singh was charged with injuring with intent to injure after he defended himself with a hockey stick against five drunken teenagers, one of whom had stabbed him in the thigh. A justice of the peace dismissed charges.

2006: Greg Carvell shot a machete-wielding Ricky Beckham, 29, in the stomach with a handgun at his father's Penrose gunshop. Police charged him with possession of a pistol for unlawful purposes but in June 2007 the charges were dismissed.