The thug Mongrel Mob member who king-hit Leni Taufateau in Christchurch over the weekend should serve a minimum five-year prison sentence for his cowardly act, says Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“Minimum mandatory prison time is needed for those who assault defenceless victims, and this can only happen if new legislation is brought in," says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“The Sensible Sentencing Trust has legislation written up and ready to go that would introduce a minimum mandatory five-year prison sentence for anyone who king-hits a victim.”

“We challenge the government to put the safety of our community first and table this piece of legislation in the House for debate."

“It is clear the current law holds no sort of deterrent when jail time is a rarity. What is most important is these thugs are taken off our streets because of the clear danger they are to society.”

“We cannot continue to see these violent gang members being let loose with light community-based sentences. The entire purpose of prison is to remove dangerous and violent criminals from our society.”

“We have seen an exponential increase in violence on our streets with gangs running roughshod over our communities."

“The government needs to start putting the safety and protection of our communities first or we will continue to see more and more victims of this sort of violence.”

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