TWO more men have faced the Hamilton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday in relation to a brawl that took place in the early hours of Christmas Eve 2022 outside the Caledonian Hotel in Hamilton.

The first accused, aged 31, pleaded guilty to behaving in a riotous manner and was represented by a lawyer.

Police Prosecutor leading senior constable, Rebecca Clark, told the court the accused became involved after observing the initial scuffle and attempted to intervene but was punched and then threw a punch in return.

The lawyer said his client was “deeply remorseful and ashamed” of his actions having “foolishly sought to intervene”.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge granted a diversion and ordered the man to pay a $250 fine.

The second man was a 22-year-old who again noticed the physical altercation on the footpath and intervened. He became heightened and told a police officer to “go f**k yourself” before shoving him in the shoulder with an open hand.

The court heard when later interviewed by police he said he was “drinking beer” and “just having a good night and then everything went to sh*t”.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge told the second man that he was one of the primary aggressors, was on notice and only just scraped through being eligible for a diversion because it was his first time before the court.

He fined the second man $600 to be payable to the court fund.