By Joseph Nathan, Staff Writer.
An Invercargill man pulled out a noose in front of his partner and child as she tried to leave him in a domestic violence confrontation.
Rahui Paul Taia, 42, was sentenced to two months’ home detention in the Invercargill District Court this week for psychological and emotional abuse last August.
Protection Order Ignored
The court heard Taia was already under a protection order when he turned up at his partner’s home. She told him to leave—repeatedly. He refused. Instead, he got angry, verbally abused her, and climbed into her bed while she slept. She moved to the couch.
Tensions Escalate as Victim Tries to Leave
In the morning, she switched on a light, setting him off again. He berated her while she got their daughter ready for school.
Later, she returned home to find him sleeping on the couch. She started packing. When their daughter came home, tensions flared again. That’s when Taia pulled out a noose—an extension cord twisted into a loop—just as the woman was leaving, child in her arms.
Courtroom Drama and Sentencing
In court, his lawyer Paige Noorland said the offending was serious but showed Taia “hitting rock bottom and crying out for help.”
The victim submitted a letter in support, calling it unfair that “we both inflicted psychological abuse on each other, but he is the only one who has been charged.” She admitted she only enforced the protection order because she feared for his mental wellbeing. A woman in the public gallery became emotional hearing this.
But Judge Russell Walker pointed to Taia’s history—four family violence convictions in eight years, including a prison sentence in 2020. A psychological report detailed his traumatic childhood.
“It’s been a torturous journey through the system,” Taia said.
Judge Walker called the three breaches of the protection order “quite serious emotional abuse.” He gave Taia credit for his background and remorse, reducing his sentence to home detention.
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