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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:15 p.m., Thursday, November 20, 2008

Australian surfer Abberton gets 3-day term

By MARK NIESSE
Associated Press Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Australian surfer Koby Abberton is led from court today in Käneçohe to begin serving a three-day sentence.

AP Photo

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KANEOHE — Australian surfing celebrity Koby Abberton received a three-day sentence today for brawling with an off-duty police officer outside a Honolulu restaurant.

Abberton, a 30-year-old member of the Bra Boys gang, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge, taking responsibility for actions he previously denied when he pleaded not guilty this summer.

"I'd just like to say, your honor, I'll never be here again. I'll put my word on it," Abberton told District Judge Ray Graulty in court.

Abberton was handcuffed and escorted to Oahu Community Correction Center to serve his sentence.

Prosecutors had sought a six-month sentence, but Graulty said he believes it's unlikely Abberton will commit crimes again.

"I think he got off easy. I think he should have been given more jail time based on the facts of the case, but I guess the court thought otherwise," Deputy City Prosecutor Katrina Ordonio said.

The charge stemmed from a fight involving some of Abberton's friends outside Restaurant Epic in Honolulu's Chinatown on March 8.

When the off-duty harbor police officer, Richard Puu, 27, tried to break up the fight, Abberton attacked him, Ordonio said. Abberton punched Puu four times in the head, giving him two black eyes and a half-inch cut on his cheek, she said.

Abberton and his friends ran away from the scene, but he was arrested later when he returned to the restaurant wearing a different colored shirt, she said.

Abberton initially claimed police had arrested the wrong guy, but he changed his story in court.

"I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt," Graulty said. "If it turns out that I'm wrong and you're back here again, well, there shouldn't be any surprise about what might await you."

Abberton is known for his bad-boy image and has had run-ins with the law in the past.

Abberton was given a suspended sentence in Australia two years ago after he was convicted of lying to police about his knowledge of the August 2003 Sydney killing of underworld figure Anthony Hines. His brother, Jai, was acquitted of murder in the killing.

Abberton is also known as the face of Oakley surfwear through a sponsorship.

Earlier this year, the autobiographical "Bra Boys" documentary was released in the U.S. The film tells of murder and family loyalties in the beachside Sydney suburb of Maroubra.