A Queenstown man was so drunk he cannot remember assaulting a bouncer who kicked him out of a bar.
However, a restorative justice meeting between the pair ended with a handshake and the exchanging of phone numbers.
Addressing Judge Russell Walker at the sentencing of Nathan Joseph Fitzpatrick, 29, in the Queenstown District Court on Monday, counsel Zak Kneebone said the victim did not want the defendant to be punished.
Police say Fitzpatrick, a British national, was heavily intoxicated after drinking at an Arrowtown bar on March 9.
About 1.40am, the bouncer saw him urinating against the wall of the bar’s outdoor area.
He told him to leave and ushered him out to the street, but the defendant followed him back in and punched him in the side of the head.
The pair fell to the ground in the scuffle, and the victim suffered swelling around one eye.
When police asked the defendant if he had assaulted the victim, he said: "No. The bouncer knows I didn’t. Nobody got assaulted."
Mr Kneebone said alcohol "got the better" of the defendant, who had no recollection of the incident.
He was undergoing counselling to address his alcohol issues.
Judge Walker said an affidavit by the defendant said his drinking had "got him into a pickle", and he was embarrassed by his behaviour on the night.
He told Fitzpatrick he was lucky the victim had been so generous during their restorative justice meeting.
"There’s way too much of this sort of behaviour in this area."
In sentencing, he took account of the defendant’s rehabilitation efforts, early guilty plea and lack of previous convictions, as well as the positive restorative justice meeting.
He convicted Fitzpatrick and ordered him to pay the victim $300 reparation for emotional harm.
