Sentencing — strangulation — injuring with intent to injure — wilful damage — male assaults female — Sentencing Act 2002, s 27 — Shramka v R [2022] NZCA 299. The defendant was for sentence on charges of strangulation, injuring with intent to injure, wilful damage and male assaults female. He had argued with the victim, and reacted by pushing her to the ground, throwing an object at her head and threatening to kill her and her family. He then kicked and punched the victim, attacked her with scissors, and strangled her for some 10 seconds. The victim was able to escape and call the police. When the victim returned to the address, she saw that the defendant had burned and destroyed some of her belongings. The offending was aggravated by serious violence, vulnerable victim, and actual harm caused. The start point for sentence on the strangulation charge was two years three months' imprisonment, uplifted by eight months for the other charges and one more month for offending while subject to a sentence of supervision. A report into the defendant's background covered his history of deprivation, cultural disconnection, and his childhood exposure to drugs, alcohol and gangs. The Court made reductions for these factors, as well as the defendant's guilty plea. This lowered the sentence to 20 months' imprisonment. The Court considered that it would be counterproductive to send the defendant to prison, and taking account of the fact that the defendant had already spent more than five months remanded in custody, passed a final sentence of five months' home detention with conditions. Judgment Date: 28 March 2023