A close friend of Andrew Farrugia the 17-year-old from Griffith who was killed by a king-hit in 2007 has said tougher sentencing laws are long overdue.
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Ben Parle's comments come as the state government introduces a new law to toughen sentencing of king-hit killers.
The new law will create a unique crime dealing with "one-punch" cases, distinct from manslaughter or murder.
The proposed new law comes in response to a four-year sentence handed down to the man who killed 18-year-old Thomas Kelly in Sydney's Kings Cross, a chillingly similar story to Griffith's own king-hit victim.
Mr Parle, who was friends with Mr Farrugia right throughout their time together at Marian Catholic College, said the punishment did not fit the crime.
"Andy was one of the most peaceful and nicest guys I'd ever met and he'd never been in a fight even though almost every other boy that age had," Mr Parle said.
"It's a hard issue but in my opinion four years is not nearly enough for taking someone's life.
"They took 60 years from Andy and they got around four years and now they're out walking the streets again."
Mr Parle said the current law suggested people who hit their victims from behind were oblivious to the likely outcomes.
"You can't lock the offenders up for life because accidents can happen but at the end of the day if you're king hitting someone you must know you're going to seriously injure or kill them," he said.
"Andrew got attacked by two guys and had his hands down, it only took three hits and he was gone. Four years is not a fair price for taking someone's life."
NSW Attorney General, Greg Smith, yesterday said the government was proposing to introduce a new offence to cover situations where an unlawful assault causes death.
"The proposed bill will be based on a Western Australian so-called 'one-punch law' which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years the laws I am proposing for NSW will carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment," Mr Smith said.
"The new offence and proposed penalty will send the strongest message to violent and drunken thugs that assaulting people is not a rite of passage on a boozy night out your behaviour can have the most serious consequences and the community expects you to pay a heavy price for your actions."