Ronald Tangaroa-Heemi slashes partner’s roommate’s face with butter knife

A man who attacked his girlfriend’s flatmate at their Surfers Paradise unit with a butter knife attacked another man with a golf club only months earlier. Read his sentencing details.

A man who slashed the face of his girlfriend’s roommate with a butter knife attacked another man with a golf club only months earlier.

Ronald Pomare Kenneth Tangaroa-Heemi was drinking with his partner, her roommate, and her roommate’s girlfriend at their Surfers Paradise apartment on the morning of June 22 last year.

Southport District Court was told an argument broke out among the group, during which Tangaroa-Heemi grabbed the other man by his shirt and lifted him from his chair.

The other man took a baseball bat from his room to defend himself.

Tangaroa-Heemi quickly armed himself with a butter knife and swung it at his victim, then punched him in the face with the same hand.

The blade slashed through the bridge of the victim’s nose, leaving him unable to breathe and calling for an ambulance.

Tangaroa-Heemi then shoved the man’s girlfriend in the chest as she tried to defend her partner.

The court was told his victim needed surgery to repair his fractured nose, and otherwise would have suffered permanent breathing difficulties and visible deformity.

Tangaroa-Heemi also later recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.092 – almost twice the limit enforced by his bail conditions.

It was only months earlier in September, 2021, that Tangaroa-Heemi left another man with leg and arm injuries after hitting him with a golf club.

Tangaroa-Heemi was arguing with his girlfriend when his second victim intervened. He accused the other man of trying to “get with his girl” before striking the left side of his body with the golf club.

The 30-year-old appeared in court this week via videolink from jail, where he has spent more than nine months since his arrest.

Defence barrister Simone Bain said her client had battled long-term substance abuse, starting with marijuana when he was 11 before progressing to heroin and prescription medication.

She said Tangaroa-Heemi’s time in custody had enabled him to get clean and begin rehabilitation, including lining up work upon his release.

“I accept he’s a mature man in the eyes of the court, but he’s still a young man and what’s important, in my submission, is he's taking steps to direct the way his future is going to unfold,” Ms Bain said.

Tangaroa-Heemi pleaded guilty to one count each of grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, common assault, and breaching bail.

He was sentenced to three and a half years’ jail, with parole eligibility from July 21 this year.