Raymond Gary Coombs spoke to reporters outside the Christchurch District Court on April 6 when he was first released on bail. (Video first published in April 2020.)

A man who filmed himself coughing and sneezing on shoppers at a supermarket in Christchurch has previously been jailed over an ill-considered prank.

Raymond Gary Coombs, 38, on Monday pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court to a charge of offensive behaviour. Coombs, who was described as "an idiot" by the Prime Minister, was initially charged with endangering life by criminal nuisance and obstruction of a medical officer of health after his "drunken prank" during the country's coronavirus lockdown.

When he appeared in court via audio visual link on Monday afternoon, one of the charges was withdrawn and the other amended to a charge of offensive behaviour.

Chris Skelton/Stuff Raymond Coombs was granted bail by the Christchurch District Court on Monday after pleading guilty to a charge of offensive behaviour. He will be sentenced in May.

It was not the first time Coombs' attempt at a prank landed him in trouble with the law. In 2009 he was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment after pleading guilty to what his lawyer suggested was "a prank gone wrong".

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Coombs, then 26, ​admitted leaving dry-ice bottle bombs around Christchurch and injuring Brian Chambers when one of the bottles exploded.

Chris Skelton/Stuff Coombs leaves the Christchurch District Court after admitting a charge of offensive behaviour. The 38-year-old had filmed himself coughing and sneezing on shoppers at a supermarket in Christchurch during the coronavirus lockdown.

Chambers had been working as a cleaner at the Christchurch bus exchange and was injured in one of the blasts from the home-made soft-drink bottle "bombs" that went off around various parts of Christchurch on August 17, 2009.

Chambers suffered hearing damage and needed two hearing aids after one of the bottles exploded when he picked it up and started to unscrew the lid.

He was later forced to shift from the bus exchange and cleaning jobs to doing office work for a cleaning company because he could no longer stand the noise. Chambers told Stuff he suffered nightmares after the incident and had to undergo counselling.

Other bottle bombs went off at a service station, a shopping mall and a city arcade. No-one else was hurt.

A PRANK 'ADDING TO CORONAVIRUS SUFFERING'

Coombs told the court on Monday that prank videos he saw online had given him the idea for the latest incident.

A screenshot of the video Coombs filmed of himself sneezing and coughing over fellow shoppers.

He uploaded a video to Facebook on March 31 saying he had been infected with Covid-19. Judge Jane McMeeken said the video was "realistic" and Coombs had spent some time explaining how sick he was and how upset he was to have contracted the virus.

A few days later, he went to Fresh Choice supermarket in Barrington and filmed himself deliberately coughing and sneezing on people. He turned the camera on other shoppers as he apologised and then smiled at the camera as he continued walking through the aisles.

He published the video on Facebook but has since deleted it.

Coombs was arrested on Saturday evening in relation to the supermarket video. He was tested for Covid-19 after his arrest and the results were negative.

Coombs told the court he had since realised his actions were not funny. He apologised for his behaviour, which he accepted "fell well below that standard of a decent citizen in New Zealand".

Outside court, he told reporters he did not think his actions through.

"I had been going through a lot of stuff at the time, which is no excuse," he said.

"I am really sorry for everything that I have caused the nation, especially the people at the supermarket on the night."

Judge McMeeken said Coombs' so-called prank was exacerbated by the fact that he told people on Facebook he had coronavirus before filming himself in the supermarket.

"This is an unprecedented time in New Zealand's history. We are in a state of emergency, there is a lockdown. Many people in New Zealand are suffering.

"Your behaviour would have added to that suffering. I am sure many people were scared and distressed when they saw what you did," the judge told him.

She deferred Coombs' sentencing to May 19 when he will be back in court for sentencing on an unrelated charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The maximum penalty for the charge of offensive behaviour is a fine of $1000.

Coombs was released on bail until his sentencing on the condition that he not access the internet for anything other than communicating with friends and family.

Woolworths NZ spokeswoman Kristy Abbott said the supermarket's owners, while still in shock and appalled at the initial event, were "thrilled" Coombs had been charged.

"We would like to reiterate, that whilst this was a prank, we also take the matter very seriously, and the store has been cleaned thoroughly on numerous occasions since the incident occurred as a precautionary measure."