Two a penny

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Two teenagers have pleaded guilty to bashing to death a New Zealand man at a Sydney sporting oval.

The offenders, who were 16 at the time of the man’s death in 2007, were originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court.

A court had previously been told Christopher Leichester, 20, was on his way to a party in Woolooware in Sydney’s south on November 24, 2007.

According to a police statement of facts, Mr Leichester suffered a severed artery between his brain and central nervous system.

As the New Zealander crossed an oval he was set upon by a group of teenage boys who punched him to the ground and kicked him several times in the head.

Court documents revealed the attack appeared to have occurred because the teenagers mistakenly believed Mr Leichester had abused them a short time earlier. .

But a witness told police it was two other men who chased and hurled abuse at the teenagers’ car.

– AAP

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Both youths remain in custody

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The death of a forestry worker in the Waikato tonight is the second workplace death in the area in 24 hours, police say.

Te Kuiti sub-area manager Senior Sergeant Rob Van Kalken said police and ambulance staff were making their way to a remote location in the Rangitoto Ranges, east of Te Kuiti, after reports of a forestry worker being killed about 5pm.Mr Van Kalken said police hoped once preliminary investigations were completed the body could be taken back to Te Kuiti and identified.There was little radio and cellphone coverage in the area and police were attempting to establish what had happened.A contractor working on a sewage line replacement was killed about 24 hours earlier after the trench he was working in collapsed.The dead worker’s name would not be released until next-of-kin had been notified. .Piopio father of three Mark Williams, 43, was digging a trench with colleagues on Williams Street, Te Kuiti, when the trench suddenly collapsed, burying him chest-deep in dirt about 5pm.Mr Van Kalken urged workers in the area to ensure their safety while working.Department of Labour inspectors were at the trench site today carrying out an investigation.”Obviously these incidents are unrelated, however we don’t want to be facing any similar tragedies and we’re asking people to ensure safety is their number one priority.”

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A morbidly obese fraudster who argues he needs specialised medical treatment that can’t be provided in prison has lost his bid to be freed while he awaits further court action.

Max Heslehurst, who has been reported as weighing close toly 200kg, was earlier this year found guilty on 41 counts of fraud and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison a term partly reduced as a result of his obesity-related health problems.

But Heslehurst widely known as Mad Max or Fat Max has appealed the convictions, saying a note outlining one or more of his previous convictions was mistakenly handed to the jury. . He applied for permission to await the appeal’s outcome at home.

It was reported at the time of his sentencing in May that his obesity meant other prisoners had to help with his personal hygiene when he used the toilet.

Heslehurst had been found guilty by a South Auckland jury of fleecing at least 30 victims across the North Island of $344,000.

Meyrick told the Sunday Star-Times he would not appeal Heslehurst’s failed bail application to the Supreme Court, but his client’s condition meant he was “degraded” in the prison setting.

Heslehurst reportedly duped his victims including a solo mother, a dentist, a racedog trainer and a group of Hamilton bankers by offering to sell them cars or televisions for bargain prices. He did not believe the Corrections Department was equipped to care for prisoners like Heslehurst who effectively had a disability. But there were no televisions or cars.

He told one of his victims he could get seven wide-screen televisions cheaply because they had belonged to failed finance company Bridgecorp and were to be auctioned the next day. A treatment plan was in place which “covers all aspects of his healthcare needs and he has an appointment scheduled with a cardiovascular specialist at Auckland Hospital shortly”.

In opposing bail, counsel for the Crown said health workers were monitoring Heslehurst’s condition daily. There was also an emergency care plan to transport him to hospital if necessary. There was also an emergency care plan to transport him to hospital if necessary.

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She added that evidence from Corrections Department health bosses suggested Heslehurst’s health needs were not enough to “tip the scales” in favour of granting bail