An Auckland man has pleaded not guilty to assault and disorderly behaviour in Blenheim on June 20, the night Tongan RSE worker Hiko Lynch was fatally stabbed.
Torhan Teariki Repia, 36, was excused from attending the Blenheim District Court on Monday as he had been bailed to an Auckland address.
Lawyer Marcus Zintl, acting as agent for Kelly Hennesy, entered the not guilty pleas for Repia.
Repia was scheduled to appear in the Blenheim District Court for a case review hearing on September 13.
Police in Blenheim arrested eight people in the hours after Lynch’s death in relation to an altercation in the town centre.
Six men were charged with disorderly behaviour, and some other offences. Two men, who have interim name suppression, were charged with murder.
They were due to appear at the High Court in Blenheim next month.
Lynch, 23, was in New Zealand on the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme when he was fatally injured in central Blenheim.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ciaran Sloan said last week no further arrests had been made, but investigations were continuing.