A Dunedin 58-year-old is behind bars again for stabbing his "friend" at a boarding house, five and a-half years after an almost identical incident.
Chris Tihema appeared before the Dunedin District Court yesterday after admitting a charge of wounding with intent to injure.
He was jailed by Judge Macdonald for two years three months and will have to serve the entire term without chance of parole because it was his second offence under the three-strikes legislation.
The first offence came after an incident in 2011 in which Tihema stabbed a man five times with a 20cm knife following a drinking session together in Mornington.
The defendant was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to wounding with reckless disregard.
On October 13, Tihema visited Leckhampton Court — a boarding house where "people who struggle to live within the community are monitored within the mental health system".
The defendant and his victim consumed alcohol and prescription drugs and began arguing in their intoxicated state.
The animosity drew the attention of other residents.
Tihema pulled out two knives, holding one to the victim’s body, the other to his throat.
It was never discovered whether the knives were at the residence or whether the defendant had brought them with him.
The pair struggled and the victim wrestled one knife from Tihema, cutting his assailant’s hand in the process.Tihema lashed out at the man, causing a gash to his neck.
When he heard police had been called he left the property.
Officers found Tihema on Princes St nursing his wounded hand.
Defence counsel Anne Stevens previously told the court her client had been in care since the age of 9 and had spent many years in jail as an adult.
The victim of his most recent offending had his wound glued together rather than stitched, which she said was an indicator of the low level of injury.
Tihema had wanted to meet the man for a restorative-justice conference but conveners had been unable to track him down.
Mrs Stevens said the incident was "disappointing" for the defendant because he considered the victim a friend.
Tihema had been pushed down a flight of stairs following the knife attack and had suffered a head injury, which she said had a long-term effect on his memory.
It was yet another setback for the defendant.
"He had established a steady home and was leading a reasonably quiet life," she said.