A farmer who admitted, in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, intentionally damaging a toilet cubicle after an incident at the Pig'n Whistle in Queenstown while participating in a stag party in January, narrowly escaped being given a prison sentence by Judge Michael Turner.
William Huntly Stuart Jones (28), of Shannon, near Middlemarch, had initially been charged with arson after the incident, which occurred on January 2.
At his sentencing yesterday, defence counsel Nic Soper - seeking a conviction and discharge for his client - said Jones appeared before the court ''chastened, thoroughly embarrassed and genuinely remorseful''.
Mr Soper said Jones' behaviour was ''totally out of character'' and it was attributed to the ''eroding and corrosive influence of alcohol on that day''.
Jones was attending an associate's stag party and, after an ''organised'' day of drinking, arrived at the Pig'n Whistle in Queenstown.
''Mr Jones was inadvertently taken advantage of by other members of his group in that his intoxicated condition was ... seen as being quite amusing or humorous to them.
''He was provided with a lighter and a nurse's uniform ... Why ... is totally unknown.
''From that point on he has nothing but the vaguest of recollections of what he did.''
The police summary said Jones took the lighter and the nurse's uniform and approached a group of unknown patrons at the bar, set the uniform on fire and then ''threw the burning item'' on to the table they were sitting at.
The uniform ''smouldered''.
Jones then went into the female toilets, where he set fire to a large toilet roll, housed in a plastic covering, and left the area.
Judge Turner said shortly after that the fire was detected by patrons and staff, the bar was evacuated and by the time the Fire Service arrived the fire had been put out.
However, when Jones was interviewed by police, he ''had very little idea where he was or what he was being spoken to about'', Mr Soper said.
The following day, Jones ''managed to piece together'', with the assistance of other members of the group, what had happened.
He immediately contacted the owner of the Pig'n Whistle to apologise and ''asked what he needed to do''.
Jones also visited the Queenstown Volunteer Fire Station and apologised for the inconvenience and made a donation at the Fire Service's suggestion.
Mr Soper said all his client could say was, ''I have never been that drunk as I was on that particular day. I don't know what happened. I don't know how I came to be in possession of a cigarette lighter and a nurse's uniform. I'm absolutely horrified at what I've done.''
Judge Turner said the incident was not ''an accident'' and believed the culpability was at the ''top end of the scale''.
''It's that culpability that takes it from a conviction and discharge to something much more than that.
''What you did could well have ended in tragedy. It was good fortune that it didn't, certainly not good management.''
Judge Turner told Jones his initial thought was to send him to prison, with leave to apply for home detention.
However, after hearing from Mr Soper and reviewing the case, he decided to ''stop short of that''.
Jones was convicted and sentenced to 200 hours' community work, fined $2000 and ordered to pay $132.89 court costs.
