Tereariki Moses, 45, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to a charge of injuring with reckless disregard.
Moses and his 75-year-old housemate bought alcohol on February 26 and returned home for a night of drinking, playing cards and watching television.
However, the mood soured when the woman suggested the defendant needed a ‘‘special-needs girlfriend’’.
‘‘The victim spoke to you in very derogatory terms and you took exception to that,’’ Judge Emma Smith said.
When Moses was later interviewed by police, he said he had ‘‘snapped’’.
The court heard the defendant got up from his seat, walked over to the woman and kicked her.
‘‘It wasn’t a prolonged or sustained attack,’’ counsel Anya Maule stressed.
But the force of the blow fractured the victim’s ankle.
The woman hobbled to bed and tried to go to sleep but had to be taken to the hospital by another resident.
In a statement, she told the court there had been ‘‘huge changes’’ to her life as a result of the assault.
Ms Maule said her client expressed sadness at losing a good friend over his violent act.
With eight pages of previous convictions, Judge Smith called Moses a ‘‘frequent offender’’.
‘‘You have been to prison many times as an effort to deter you but also received rehabilitative sentences,’’ she said.
‘‘None of that has had a significant effect to stop your offending.’’
In October 2025, Moses had been sentenced to 18 months’ intensive supervision on two charges of aggravated drink-driving and two of driving while disqualified.
Judge Smith said that had been a ‘‘hopeful’’ sentence and one which reflected the defendant’s former efforts at rehabilitation.
However, it was only four months after the sentencing that the most recent violence occurred.
The intensive-supervision sentence had ‘‘completely failed’’, the judge said.
Moses was jailed for 17 months.
