Asia-Pacific News
Teen concrete-block killer jailed for four years
Sep 6, 2006, 3:44 GMT
Wellington - A 15-year-old New Zealand boy who admitted dropping an 8-kilogram concrete block off a motorway bridge onto a car, killing the driver, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in jail.
Ngatai Rewiti, who was 14 at the time the block smashed through the windscreen of a car, instantly killing motorist Chris Currie, 20, was acquitted of murder by an Auckland jury in July but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Three women passengers escaped injury in the car, though it crashed and caught fire.
Police said that Rewiti dropped the block to gain notoriety among his schoolmates. Passing sentence, the judge told him he had committed an 'act of breathtaking stupidity,' Radio New Zealand reported.
The judge directed he serve his time in a youth detention facility.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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