{"id":10273,"date":"2024-06-12T17:10:55","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T05:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=10273"},"modified":"2024-06-12T17:10:55","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T05:10:55","slug":"rajesh-kumar-jailed-for-attempted-murder-after-slashing-young-girls-throat-in-south-auckland-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=10273","title":{"rendered":"Rajesh Kumar jailed for attempted murder after slashing young girl\u2019s throat in South Auckland home"},"content":{"rendered":"

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT<\/b><\/p>\n

A\u00a0South Auckland<\/a>\u00a0man who woke a young girl in the middle of the night\u00a0then cut her throat with a fish-filleting knife<\/a>\u00a0has received a hefty prison term for an attack described by a judge as an \u201cegregious breach of trust\u201d.<\/p>\n

Name suppression lapsed for Rosehill resident Rajesh Kumar, 53, as he appeared before Justice Geoffrey Venning in the\u00a0High Court at Auckland<\/a>\u00a0today after he earlier\u00a0pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the child<\/a>\u00a0and the kidnapping days earlier of his wife.<\/p>\n

Both offences are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Kumar was ordered to serve a 10-and-a-half-year term – nine years for the attempted murder to be served back-to-back, instead of concurrently, with an 18-month sentence for the kidnapping. The judge also ordered he serve at least six years before he can apply for parole.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is still suffering from the results of your offending,\u201d Justice Venning told the defendant of the child victim, describing the attack as pre-meditated and \u201cextremely violent and unprovoked\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe should have been entitled to feel safe in her own home.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to court documents, Kumar decided to\u00a0attack the child after a night of drinking<\/a> in December 2022, entering her bedroom, nudging her awake about 3am and motioning for her to follow him.<\/p>\n

He led the child to a garage and told her to sit in a chair as he stood in front of her, at which point he told her her father wasn\u2019t who she thought it was. The child attempted to leave, but the defendant ordered her to stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout speaking further, the defendant walked behind [the girl] and stood behind her while she was sitting on the seat facing away from him,\u201d court documents state. \u201cHe grabbed [the girl] by the hair and pulled her hair backwards, raising her chin and exposing her throat and neck. The defendant then used the knife to slit [her throat].\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Rosehill
Rosehill resident Rajesh Kumar appears in the High Court at Auckland in 2023 after being charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n