Man kills daughter because she didn't smile at him

A man in New Zealand has been charged with murdering his two-year-old daughter after he allegedly threw her against a wall and then stomped on her because she never smiled at him.

Kefu Ikamanu pleaded not guilty in the high court in Auckland to murdering his daughter Seini by breaking her shoulder, pelvis and causing a brain injury, the Daily Mail reported.

The man threw his daughter against a wall and then stomped on her because she never smiled at him, the prosecutor told the court.

The girl died of fatal injuries in March 2010, 21 days before her third birthday. She was affected with pneumonia, which the court heard had been caused by the injury to her brain.

The court heard the accused was not able to form a close bond with his daughter, and became "frustrated and angry" with what he thought was the spoilt behaviour of his child.

The girl had only recently been reunited with her family after living with her grandparents for most of her life.