Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

A Whangārei man who murdered a forestry worker in a street fight in the city centre has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The convicted man, who has name suppression, stabbed 23-year-old Haze Peihopa with a large knife on a Saturday night in June 2021.

The wound went through the victim’s chest to his spine, and he died in hospital soon after.

Peihopa’s tearful family told the court they were so distraught upon hearing the news of his death that the victim’s partner vomited, and his mother was left in ‘a constant mindset of torture’.

His killer was given a minimum non-parole period of 7.5 years, and was also sentenced for assault with a weapon.

The name suppression was scheduled to last another five days.