A Mossburn farmer appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday charged with a Crimes Act assault, following the death of a man in an altercation at the town's hotel car park early on Saturday.
Bruce Taylor (47) was remanded in custody to reappear in the Invercargill court on Friday.
Inspector Tony O'Neill, of Invercargill, said police had yet to decide whether Taylor would face further charges.
No weapon was involved in the incident at the Mossburn Railway Hotel, in which 42-yearold Mossburn stock agent Alastair Mabin Day died.
Emergency services were called to the hotel at 2.10am, following an altercation in its car park. Insp O'Neill said inquiries were continuing, and several witnesses had yet to be interviewed.
Reports there had been a ‘‘pub brawl'' were inaccurate - only two men were directly involved in the incident, while others tried stop the situation escalating.
‘‘Two people were at a hotel in the early hours of Saturday morning [and] they had an altercation,'' he said.
‘‘One punch was thrown by one of those men. He struck the victim and [Mr Day] fell down.
‘‘He was given medical treatment [but died at the scene].''
While it was clear Mr Day was struck in the head, it was not clear where the punch connected, Insp O'Neill said.
Mr Day's funeral will be held at the Mossburn Community Centre tomorrow afternoon. He is survived by his wife and two children.
