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Offender Databases Joshua Hapi

Joshua Phillip Hapi

Alias

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Offences

Involved in the attempted murder of Chris Chan-Sau in East Tamaki, South Auckland in May 2002
Charge was "Wounding with reckless disregard for the safety of others"

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

Paul Murray

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

unknown

Current Location

At large

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to three years in April 2003
Released January 2004

Background
NZ Herald story here
From Dominion Post story 7th May 2003
A MAN who shot a father of two at an illegal street race in South Auckland has had his 10-year prison term reduced by the Court of Appeal. Paul Louis Murray, 23, became incensed after a bottle was used to smash a hole in the rear window of his sister's car on May 12, 2002. He went home, where a person arrived with a .22 semi-automatic rifle with silencer and gave him instructions how to use it. Murray returned and started firing the rifle in a service station forecourt near where 200 people had gathered to watch the racing. When 25-year-old apprentice mechanic and father-of-two Chris Chan- Sau threw a bottle in his direction, Murray shot him in the abdomen.

Mr Chan-Sau required surgery and spent more than a month in hospital. Murray had more than 40 previous convictions and was on parole, having been released from prison only 13 days before the shooting. The judges said Murray's actions in taking a loaded gun into an area where there were more than 200 people was both foolhardy and dangerous. His actions endangered both the victim and other members of the public. However, they said the trial judge's use of a 12-year starting point for sentencing, with a one-sixth discount for a guilty plea, was manifestly excessive. The court said a 10-year starting point would be consistent with other cases, together with a 25 per cent reduction for Murray's guilty plea. It quashed the 10-year-sentence, replacing it with one of 7 1/2 years. It also reduced Murray's non-parole period from six years to four.

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Corrections and Additional Information
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