Source: Radio New Zealand
The attack took place outside the Fork and Tap pub in Arrowtown. Google Maps/Screenshot
It was a “rush of blood” moment when Braden Jane knocked a 19-year-old unconscious outside an Arrowtown bar.
While his victim was lying on the ground, Jane left the scene, leading police to release CCTV images of him at the pub on the evening of the incident before he handed himself in to police.
The 30-year-old project manager has now been discharged without conviction in the Queenstown District Court after Judge Mark Williams ruled a conviction of intent to injure would cause him to lose his job.
The incident has come with a warning from the judge that there was too much alcohol-related violence in the tourist town.
“There needs to be a message that violence in Queenstown will not be tolerated,” the judge said at the hearing.
Mat Woods, chief executive of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, shared the judge’s concerns.
“Violence is not acceptable in our community,” he told NZME.
“Incidents like this are always concerning.
“Our hospitality sector works hard alongside police, licensing authorities and the wider community to promote responsible behaviour and ensure the town remains a safe place for residents and visitors alike.”
A number of violent incidents involving alcohol had taken place over the past year in the city.
Those included an assault on Ballarat St in the early hours of New Year’s Day, which police are still investigating.
In September last year, an Australian tourist celebrating his 30th birthday smashed a glass in his victim’s face after they commented on his height.
In May, a man was punched in an unprovoked attack in the city centre. Police learnt of the incident while investigating a separate assault moments before in a popular bar.
At Jane’s hearing this week, the court heard he had attended a wedding in the Gibbston Valley area on December 21, 2025.
The wedding party later moved to the Fork and Tap pub in Arrowtown.
Shortly after 10pm, as Jane, his fiancee and a group of friends were leaving, the victim was standing outside the bar.
Jane had gone to the toilet and when he returned, he claimed to have heard offensive things being said to his fiancee.
“He said there were some threats being made, he told police he got angry and rushed forward,” defence lawyer Bill Dawkins submitted in court.
“He walked up two steps and hit.
“This is a case of, really, a rush of blood.”
The closed-fist punch connected with the victim’s mouth, causing him to fall backwards, knocking him unconscious.
Jane then left the scene.
The victim, who was studying at the University of Otago, had returned home to Arrowtown for the summer and had been working at a local golf course.
He was taken to hospital, where he received stitches for a split lip and had a CT scan, which showed no further signs of damage.
In his victim impact statement, he said he suffered the “most brutal” headache he’d ever had.
“He doesn’t know you, has never met you and says he does not know why you hit him with what he describes as a ‘coward’s punch’,” Judge Williams told Jane of the victim.
“It was a moment of anger, you said it was as simple as that.
“You would have been guilty of manslaughter if the person had died.”
Police circulated a CCTV image of Jane after the incident.
Jane then approached his lawyer before going to the police. He was charged with injuring with intent to injure.
The court heard Jane had apologised to the victim in writing. He was remorseful and was grateful the victim was not seriously injured.
The victim, who was not in court, was “neutral” about Jane’s application to be discharged without conviction, Dawkins and police prosecutor Dan Andrews said.
Jane was planning to move to Australia with his fiancee and worked for an international company as a project manager, which required extensive travel overseas. A conviction would likely end in him losing his job, Judge Williams said.
He also said Jane suffered “media scrutiny” after the incident as his image was circulated online.
Because of his clean record, the risk to his job and the unlikelihood Jane would reoffend, Judge Williams granted the discharge without conviction application.
However, Jane was ordered to pay the victim $5000 in emotional harm reparation.
This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
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