A man accused of assaulting another man in the back of a car in central Wellington has denied punching or threatening the complainant.
The man, a senior public servant, whose name and identifying details are suppressed, is on trial in the Wellington District Court.
The accused said that in August 2008 he took the complainant, who stole money from him, to his car that was parked nearby.
Witnesses for the Crown have told the Court they saw the accused punch the complainant several times in the back seat.
However the accused told the Court on Thursday he was simply struggling to remove a bag from around the complainant's shoulder.
Suppression order broken
A blogger has broken the suppression order on the accused's identity.
The blogger is already charged with breaching name suppression in another case.
The Solicitor-General's office has referred enquiries about the breach to the police.
A spokesperson at Police National Headquarters says the police are aware of the breach but are unable to comment any further.
