12 Aug 2020

Jail terms for Sanford crew members involved in pub violence

5:36 pm on 12 August 2020

Three New Zealanders who pleaded guilty to violent disorder charges after attacking patrons at a pub on the Falkland Islands have been sentenced.

A photo from the Falkland Islands

Five patrons required treatment at hospital in the Falkland Islands after a violent incident in a pub. Photo: Unsplash / Vijay Chander

They were members of a Sanford crew fishing in the South Atlantic, and were due to be repatriated when the assaults happened in late June.

Roddy Cordeiro from Falklands newspaper Penguin News said Sonny Ball, Samuel Goldsworthy and Chassy Duncan were sentenced last week to prison terms of 14 months, 12 months, and eight months respectively.

The court was told the men indiscriminately assaulted a group of bar customers after being refused service.

Five patrons required treatment at hospital, including one with a broken wrist, after the violent assaults.

During the attack, one of the defendants struck a woman who was cowering on the floor and another patron was struck with a glass.

The lawyer for the men said they had not set out to start a fight that night and it was not a planned or co-ordinated attack.

In sentencing the Senior Magistrate Sarah Whitby said the men acted violently causing serious injury and distress to their victims.

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