Under the three-strikes law, reinstated by the Government in June 2025, the first strike involves a warning, while a second means the offender could serve their jail term with no parole.
If given a third strike, the offender could serve the maximum sentence of the charge without parole.
But it was the fact that Khan lay in wait for his victim to come out of the kebab shop before striking him that proved the tipping point for the judge.
‘He’s lucky I didn’t kill him’
The court heard that Khan and the victim were drinking together at Khan’s Peachgrove Rd house at 8.45pm on September 23, last year.
They then had a “dispute” which saw the victim run off and hide in the nearby shop.
Khan set off after him, armed with a metal baseball bat, and hid, waiting for him to come out.
As the victim walked out, Khan “took his time” to position himself behind him before swinging the bat with “full force” to the right side of his head.
The victim was stunned but able to run back inside the kebab shop, which was then locked, and police were called.
Out on the street, Khan yelled “Shot n****r, shot n****r”, before running home.
The victim of Hamilton man Shane Khan’s attack was left bloodied and bruised after being whacked around the head with a baseball bat. Photo / Supplied
Police searched his home five days later and found the bat, along with the clothing he had been wearing at the time.
When spoken to, Khan said, “I’m not gonna deny it, I f****** smashed that c***, all right. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”
The victim suffered cuts and bruising to his face but avoided any permanent injury.
In his victim impact statement, read by Judge Saunders, the victim said he didn’t remember much of what happened, apart from waking up in hospital.
“He couldn’t believe you had done that to him because you were mates, and, although annoyed at what you did to him, he has no hard feelings toward you and wishes you all the best.”
‘Maybe I should have handled things differently’
Referring to a pre-sentence report, Judge Saunders said Khan lacked insight into his actions and appeared to try to shift some of the blame on to his mate.
However, he also said, “Maybe I should have handled things differently.”
McKenna said the argument “escalated well beyond what it should have”.
“But [Khan] did consider that man a friend and wanted to apologise, for what it’s worth.”
His client pleaded guilty straight away and was keen to attend a restorative justice conference, but it never happened.
He told the judge that if his client was ordered to serve his full jail term, he might think there had be little gained by taking up any rehabilitative courses while in prison.
Judge Saunders noted that although Khan had a “significant” criminal history, there weren’t any offences involving serious violence.
In his favour was the fact that the victim not only forgave him, but also didn’t suffer any permanent injuries.
After taking a five-year and six-month imprisonment starting point, she applied discounts for his remorse and guilty plea, before coming to an end term of four years and one month.
Given the other factors, including that Khan would only serve 16 months’ jail before being eligible for parole, Judge Saunders declined to use her discretion and ordered him to serve the full four years and one month.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.