• A Ponsonby CEO accused of bashing a pensioner in a road rage incident seeks name suppression. 
• The CEO claims he faces financial ruin and severe stress if publicly identified. 
• A judge granted interim suppression, but warned the CEO’s arguments ‘just, and only just’ met the required threshold. 

A Ponsonby chief executive accused of bashing a pensioner in an alleged road rage incident involving a $430,000 supercar says he is not that wealthy, has finance to pay on his car, and is suffering severe stress at the prospect of being publicly identified. 

The 36-year-old is jointly charged with fighting in public over a physical altercation with the sight- and hearing-impaired 74-year-old in August near Silverdale. The incident allegedly left the retiree with concussion symptoms, scrapes and bruises, busted glasses and a contusion. 

Both men deny wrongdoing and plan to defend the charges at trial. 

The Herald has obtained a copy of a sworn affidavit filed by the CEO last week as part of an application to suppress his name. 

The man, who is also charged with dangerous driving, wrote he would face “financial ruin” if his name was published by media. 

He claimed the company he founded relied on several major international supply contracts which might be cancelled if his identity was linked to the alleged offending, “as it may bring their businesses into disrepute”. 

The man said he had built his company up from nothing and had no other qualifications or experience. 

“I worry about my future if my reputation were to suffer.” 

Despite the Herald offering the man multiple opportunities to outline his version of events, he declined to be interviewed. 

In his sworn affidavit, he claimed the incident that led to his arrest had been inaccurately portrayed in the media, and was “incredibly one-sided”. 

“The physical altercation that occurred was not at all as described. 

“The media has depicted me as a horrible person, someone that could beat up an elderly man.” 

A North Shore pensioner says he suffered suspected concussion, scrapes and bruises after an alleged road rage attack near Silverdale. 

The company director - who co-owns his $2 million central Auckland property with his father - also claimed he was not as wealthy as people might think. 

“The media has perceived my wealth to be a lot greater than it is. 

“I have a mortgage to pay, and my car is on finance.” 

He reiterated that publication of his identity could cause “significant reputational and financial damage” to his company. 

Finally, he claimed that being charged over the incident had affected his mental and physical health. 

“I have been under great stress and have struggled to sleep. 

“I have seen the comments online and the obvious hatred towards the younger unnamed person in relation to these charges. 

“I have been worried about going outside in public because of the way in which the media has spun the events.” 

His affidavit asked the judge to suppress his name to protect his reputation. 

“I have a mortgage and I worry that I will be unable to pay my mortgage as a consequence of financial damage that would likely incur if non-publication were not ordered.” 

‘Prurient interest’ 

At a hearing on Friday in North Shore District Court, the man’s lawyer Guyon Foley asked Judge Tony Couch to grant an interim suppression order until at least May next year, arguing his client would otherwise suffer “extreme hardship”. 

The Herald opposed the application, arguing there was public interest in the man being identified. 

Judge Couch granted the order, but warned the man’s arguments for suppression “just, and only just” met the required threshold. 

Addressing the defendant directly, the judge said that what had caught the public’s attention in this case “is the car that you were driving”. 

The Ponsonby CEO argued he would face financial ruin and severe stress if publicly identified in connection with the charges. 

“The public who cannot afford such vehicles inevitably have a rather prurient interest in seeing people who have such vehicles” brought before the courts. 

While the judge granted suppression, he warned the defendant the order was by no means permanent, particularly so if the man was convicted. 

The judge also gave Foley a ticking-off for only handing up a copy of his client’s suppression application and sworn affidavit on the morning of the hearing. 

He said this disadvantaged the media. 

However, the suppression order was granted, preventing the media from naming the defendant or his company, and the matter set down for a judge-alone trial next year. 

‘Up my bum’ 

The charges relate to an incident on the Northern Motorway. 

The pensioner claims he was attacked on the roadside at Highgate Parkway after being “tailgated” by the businessman’s 2019 luxury vehicle. 

In a written statement to police, the pensioner said he was driving north on SH1 when he noticed the sports car “up my bum” and trying to overtake. 

The man claimed the sports car then cut to his left-hand side, with the driver waving and gesticulating. 

“Me thinking, ‘What a clown’, I did give him the one-finger salute,” the man wrote. 

Next, the sports car allegedly pulled in front of the elderly man’s Kia and slowed to about 60km/h, the pensioner claimed. 

He then felt a “bump” as the two vehicles collided. 

The 74-year-old man says he suffered a likely torn hamstring, scrapes, bruises and suspected concussion after an alleged road rage incident involving a high-performance sports car. 

After exiting at Millwater, both cars pulled over. The pensioner said he walked towards the sports car when the driver allegedly “charged at me” and “started to punch me left and right blows to the head”. 

The driver allegedly pulled the older man’s sweatshirt over his head and threw him to the ground “where he continued to rain down blows on my head and body”, the statement alleges, leaving him “stunned and disorientated”, and on the verge of passing out. 

Both men filed police reports following the incident, blaming the other for the violent altercation. 

The pensioner’s family say they were stunned the retired mechanic was charged and would defend the matter at trial. 

The CEO told the Herald the pensioner was the one at fault, not him. 

“I was assaulted by this gentleman,” he alleged, adding, “there’s the possibility that I suffered injuries.” 

He declined to comment further after speaking to his lawyer. 

Lane Nichols is deputy head of news and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.