Japanese rugby player Amanaki Mafi has been fined $50,000 and discharged without conviction after a late night bust-up with a former Melbourne Rebels team-mate.
Mafi, 29, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure Lopeti Timani, who he has known since they were children growing up in Tonga. The charge has a maximum penalty of three years' jail.
The pair went to the home of a family member of Mafi, after their team lost 43-37 to the Highlanders in Dunedin on July 14.
HAMISH MCNEILLY/SUPPLIED
Lopeti Timani (inset) was bashed and bundled into a car in Dunedin after drinking with Amanaki Mafi, who was charged over the incident.
They were drinking into the early hours of the next morning and became intoxicated.
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Mafi became enraged after Timani used an offensive word in front of a female relative, and challenged him to a fight.
GETTY IMAGES
Amanaki Mafi looks on during the round 19 Super Rugby match between the Highlanders and the Rebels at Forsyth Barr Stadium in July.
The pair scuffled before being separated by Mafi's family members.Timani fled the scene.
He hid in bushes at nearby Bathgate Park, but was found by Mafi, who punched and kicked him before bundling him into the back of a vehicle.
Mafi told police he only stopped punching when he thought Timani had had enough.
Paul Kane/Getty
Former Melbourne Rebels teammates Lopeti Timani, left, and Amanaki Mafi with Tafatu Polota-Nau of the Force after a 2017 Super Rugby game.
Timani, who is now based in France, told the Sydney Morning Herald he thought he would be killed.
Mafi was excused from appearing before Judge John MacDonald in the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday.
His lawyer, Anne Stevens QC, argued his Japanese rugby contract would be "ripped up" if a conviction was entered, which was out of proportion with the offending.
Ren Onuma/Kyodo News
Japan's Amanakii Mafi, second from left, is chased by Fiji's defense during a Pacific Nations Cup rugby match in Japan.
Stevens told the court a restorative justice meeting was turned down, but Mafi had written a letter of apology.
Judge MacDonald said Timani suffered physical injuries, including swelling to the base of his skull and neck, and took some six months to resolve.
His concussion also affected his rugby playing for six months.
He noted the offending was in the "moderately serious" range, but it was his first-time before the courts and he was clearly remorseful.
Mafi's actions were "an extreme overreaction".
A conviction could lead to the termination of his contract, which was acknowledged by the Crown's lawyer, Robin Bates.
MacDonald did not know the precise terms of Mafi's contract, but understood it to be "significant if not substantial".
The Melbourne Rebels fined the pair A$15,000 (NZ$15,500) over the incident.
Mafi will have to pay $50,000, which includes Timani's fine and $20,000 in medical expenses.
He was selected in Japan's World Cup squad, but missed the opening win over Russia because of a shoulder injury suffered in their final warm-up game against South Africa.
He recovered to play two games, with the Brave Blossoms losing a quarter-final against eventual 2019 champion, South Africa.
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December 17, 2019 at 08:56AM
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