A Whakatāne woman who threatened two women with a knife and hit one of them in the stomach with an axe has been sentenced to prison.

Riini Hineora Titihuia Akurangi, 38, appeared in the Whakatāne District Court for sentence on Wednesday on charges of assault with intent to injure, theft in an offensive manner, possession of a knife in a public place, speaking threateningly and possession of an offensive weapon.

The charges related to two incidents that occurred in July 2025 and June 2026.

Judge Jo Rielly said in the 2025 offending, Akurangi had become upset when the complainant arrived at the property she was at.

Akurangi began swearing at the complainant about money she owed and talking about whether or not she should stab her.

When the woman said she did not owe anything, Akurangi showed her a knife which prompted the complainant to hand over $10.

Akurangi then told her she had better get some more money.

The following day, the same complainant was in a vehicle with friends, one of whom asked to be taken to Ratima Place where Akurangi was.

Akurangi came out of the house and again asked the complainant for money.

She then talked about “giving her a hiding” but used more “colourful” language.

Judge Rielly said Akurangi went back to the house and picked up an axe, which she threw at the complainant.

The blunt end hit the woman in the abdomen and hip area, causing bruising.

Akurangi then threw the axe at the vehicle as it was leaving, but didn’t hit it.

In June 2026, while awaiting trial for this offending, Akurangi threatened to fight another complainant with whom she was living with.

Two days later, she entered the woman’s house and refused to leave when asked. When confronted, Akurangi began waving a knife around in front of her.

In her victim impact statement, the woman expressed disappointment in Akurangi’s behaviour and said she had not expected her to start threatening her that way.

Judge Rielly sentenced Akurangi to a total of 15 months in prison, with leave to apply for home detention if she could find a suitable address away from Whakatāne.

No bail

Judge Rielly refused to grant Selwyn Tukerangi electronically monitored bail and he remains in custody until his next appearance on January 27.

Tukerangi is charged with breaching his release conditions by consuming alcohol and two counts of assaulting a first responder.

The assault charges relate to alleged behaviour in a police patrol car.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prison only outcome

A Taupō man has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and causing the death of his good friend. He has also pleaded guilty to two counts of driving under the influence of drugs and causing injury.

His defence counsel requested that Mac Hori be allowed to remain on bail ahead of his likely sentencing to imprisonment, saying he was extremely remorseful for what occurred and was undertaking counselling to deal with his involvement in the crash and his substance abuse issues.

Judge Rielly said she was satisfied he should be able to remain in the community, but Hori should be under no illusion – the only available outcome was a term of imprisonment.

“You need to ready yourself for that.”

He will be sentenced on February 17.

Guilty pleas

Whakatāne man Te Maunganui Everest Singh-Lagah has pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour, theft, shoplifting and doing an indecent act.

The charges relate to separate incidents that occurred over a five-day period in early October.

The 32-year-old man was remanded in custody until his sentencing on February 3.

Abusive language ends in jail

Judge Rielly said it was “sad” to have to sentence Zachariah Kingi to the maximum three months’ in prison, but it was the only appropriate outcome.

Kingi, 36, appeared on charges of disorderly behaviour and two counts of offensive behaviour relating to his actions on The Strand early Tuesday morning.

The homeless man said very offensive and rude things to two women at about 6.30am, then went to the back of a bar and said things that made a man feel very unsafe.

The court heard Kingi had a concerning history of similar behaviour.

“He has been frightening members of the Whakatāne community for a long time,” Judge Rielly said.

However, she acknowledged that Kingi was significantly vulnerable because of his mental health issues, aggravated by his use of illicit substances, which compromised his medication.

She imposed prison release conditions not to consume illicit drugs and not to enter Whakatāne, except for medical reasons or to do his banking.

Date required

A suitable date has yet to be found for a pending animal cruelty trial.

The MPI prosecution against Robert Greene is expected to take three days and involve 11 witnesses.

At this stage, three days cannot be found to accommodate the hearing in the Whakatāne court schedule, and the case will be recalled on February 3.

Two wrongs don’t make a right

When Shane Collier saw his daughter with a black eye and scrapes down her face, he reacted violently.

At his sentencing on a charge of assault on a person in a family relationship, his lawyer, Steve Franklin, outlined what sparked the incident, which he described as a “family situation that got out of hand”.

Franklin said the explanation for what prompted the assault was an explanation only, not an excuse – Collier knew his behaviour was unacceptable and was very remorseful.

As a fly-in, fly-out worker in Australia, Franklin said it would be difficult for Collier to do community work, but he could pay emotional harm reparation to the victim.

He said Collier would like to mend the relationship when the victim felt ready to do so.

The police said the victim suffered “reasonable” injuries to the face with the offending requiring more than a fine.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right and he (Collier) has overstepped the mark.”

Judge Rielly said it was a “great shame” that this happened within their family.

As well as the injuries suffered, it had been emotionally difficult for the victim because of the breakdown in a longstanding relationship.

But, she said she was pleased that Collier was motivated to right the harm he had caused, and did not try to excuse his behaviour.

She sentenced him to 80 hours’ community work and ordered him to pay $500 emotional harm reparation to the victim by December 17.

Not guilty pleas

Codie Shannon has entered not guilty pleas to five charges.

The 27-year-old Whakatāne man denies charges of threatening to cause damage to a dwelling, assaulting a person with a CRC can and a lighter, threatening to kill, dangerous driving and threatening to bomb Whakatāne Police Station.

He was remanded in custody to appear for case review on January 28.