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Jimmy Mason and one of his sons - Source: ONE News -
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An assault case is underway that's seen as a test for New Zealand's new child smacking law.
Forty-nine year old James Louis Mason is charged in the
Christchurch District Court with assaulting his two and
four-year-old sons in December 2007.
The police say he flicked one of them on the ear in central
Christchurch, an action reported by an off-duty officer.
Mason is also alleged to have shaken the boys while they were on
their bikes.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
A witness, Belinda Payne, told the court she saw Mason at the Bridge of Remembrance with the two boys riding their bikes.
She says he was yelling and growling at the two boys and lifted the bikes up while the children were still on them, then forced them onto the ground.
The witness says he then flicked the ear of the older boy and punched him on the face.
Mason's defence lawyer told the court it was a busy area and his client used reasonable force.
Mason maintains he was trying to discipline his boys after an earlier bike crash in a busy part of town, but not by punching or flicking.
A 15-year-old boy who was passing by at the time said Mason was pretty angry and lashed out, hitting his son with a closed fist.
The witness admitted he did not see the earlier claimed accident.
