Man Tasered, removed from Invercargill courtroom

An Invercargill man had to be Tasered and removed from court after he started acting up.

The man, who has interim name suppression, was facing 13 charges including for assault, driving dangerously, possession of an offensive weapon and attempt to defeat the course of justice.

He pleaded guilty through his defence lawyer Sonia Vidal to three charges - driving while disqualified,  driving in a dangerous manner, and assault on a person of a family relationship.

A charge of assault on a person with a blunt instrument was withdrawn by police.

The man was sentenced by Judge Bernadette Farnan to seven months' imprisonment and 18 months' disqualification from driving.

Earlier this morning, the accused appeared for his sentencing but, as Judge Farnan described, he was behaving badly.

"I'm not sure what triggered that."

He had to be removed forcefully and was Tasered.

"Such behaviour will not be tolerated," she said.

The remaining matters which the man faces would be dealt with in his appearance next week.