Waitematā FC player Raymond Kumar jailed for kicking opponent in face at match on Auckland’s North Shore

Kumar’s Division 3 football team, Waitematā FC, had been playing Albany United at Sunnynook Park on Auckland’s North Shore in June last year when Kumar instigated a melee between the teams, according to court documents released to the Herald this week.

“Following the whistle, at approximately 3.30pm, the defendant ran up behind the victim and kicked the victim’s right foot, causing him to stumble forward,” the agreed summary of facts states, explaining that the two then exchanged words.

“The defendant pushed the victim in the chest with force, causing him to stumble back. Subsequently, a physical altercation broke out between the two teams.”

Kumar was pulled to the ground by another Albany player, but got up and charged the victim, who was standing to the side of the fight. He punched the other man in the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground, before kicking him in the face while still wearing his boots.

Witnesses had to pull Kumar away, court documents state.

Another Albany United player told the Herald last year that their team had been warned about the opposing side beforehand. He described the side as “pretty scrappy” throughout the match, which the referee ended early before the brawl.

The witness, who asked not to be named, described the victim as the “smallest player on the pitch”.

The attacker, he said, vanished before anyone realised what had happened.

“Doing that and then running off, it’s just a f***ing cowardly way to do it,” he said.

Waitematā’s president told the Herald last year that Kumar was “immediately removed from the club”, which had been co-operating with police.

“He’s not welcome back at the club,” Conan McKinstry said.

Kumar was arrested one year ago this week, after a 10-week police investigation.

He was initially charged with wounding the other player with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment. The victim was left bleeding and required surgery for a broken jaw. He had to take time off work to recover, court documents state.

Kumar pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of injuring with intent to injure, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

The victim did not appear in court for this week’s sentencing, and no victim impact statement was read aloud. The judge was told the victim had no interest in meeting Kumar for a restorative justice conference, a court-facilitated meeting in which a defendant can apologise in person.

Judge Retzlaff noted that Kumar seemed to be making steady progress towards rehabilitation – having started a stopping violence programme and applied for a discharge without conviction – when he had a major setback last month that “unfortunately put a halt to that positive progress”.

While receiving a ride home from a Kingsland bar around 4am, he punched a male relative who was also in the back seat, court documents state. The car then pulled over, and he punched a female relative twice in the face and pulled her out of the vehicle by her hair.

When the male victim asked Kumar why he had done that, the defendant responded by punching him again, continuing the attack after he fell to the ground. Kumar then fled, but was arrested a short distance away.

He initially denied attacking the relatives. When asked by police about the football match incident, he claimed he had acted in self-defence.

His lawyer said he was now ashamed of his “impulsive and violent behaviour” in both situations. He had no memory of why he attacked his relatives.

“He’s very remorseful for the harm he’s caused,” Osborne said, acknowledging that a short prison term was needed because Kumar did not have an address for home detention.

He noted that the consequences for his client would be dire. A deportation notice had been issued and, although Kumar wanted to oppose it, doing so would be difficult, Osborne said.

The judge ordered 18 months’ imprisonment. He urged Kumar to redouble his efforts to put his life back on track when released, even though it wouldn’t be easy if he were separated from his family by deportation.

“The physical harm you caused is clear,” he said, adding that he had no doubt the first victim also suffered psychological harm as a result of the attack. “He should have been entitled to enjoy a soccer game without this happening to him.”

The judge declined the Herald’s request to take a photo at the hearing, citing Kumar’s lack of a criminal record, his relative youth and his “past experiences of trauma and violence that he himself experienced” from his father.

“You have not had a happy upbringing in certain seasons of your life,” the judge acknowledged.

But he advised Kumar, “You need to develop a mechanism to steer away from this violence, or it’s going to keep landing in prison.”

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