Two a penny

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A second prison officer working at Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison has been arrested on drug charges.

Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews said the prison guard had been arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act. .

“This second arrest should send a very clear and strong message that corrupt and illegal behaviour will not be tolerated in our prisons,” Mr Matthews said.

In June this year, a senior prison manager, Jeffrey Mark Reid, 43, was arrested and charged with selling cannabis to inmates. There is always the possibility of corrupt practices occurring within the system, he said.

He said it was disappointing such action had to be taken, but the department was confident the overwhelming majority of officers were honest.

In August a female prison officer was suspended on full pay, accused of having an affair with a violent criminal.

TVNZ also reported more arrests were imminent, following the investigation into one of the country’s largest prisons.

She was one of five Rimutaka staff suspended at that time – two years after a spate of staff problems prompted a more than 15-month inquiry into corruption at the prison.

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Mr Matthews said he could not provide further details on the arrest as the case was before the courts

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A West Coast man who fled into the Grey River after a car crash today remains missing despite intensive searches.

Constable Sean Judd said Andrew David Lorimer was last seen running towards the river after the 3.30pm crash at Taylorville, 12km northeast of Greymouth.”No further contact has been made by Mr Lorimer and fears are growing for his safety as time goes on.”Shortly afterwards (he) contacted his girlfriend by cellular phone stating he was actually in the river,” Mr Judd said. .”An extensive search involving local land search and rescue teams, four dog handlers, two inflatable surf rescue boats, a kayak team, coast guard personnel, the Solid Energy Rescue Helicopter and police had failed to find any sign of him.It was possible Mr Lorimer had made it out of the river and was avoiding police.”At this stage we do not necessarily need to know where he is; only that he is safe,” Mr Judd said. Anyone with information was asked to contact the police.

.Another person in the crash also fled but was found at a nearby address

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A man has died following a fight in the West Coast township of Kumara, just a fortnight after the mayor gained national attention for demanding a police presence in the town.

Police were called to a residence in the small town, 25km south of Greymouth, at 12.45am, and found the body of man.

He confirmed that the dead man lived in Kumara.

Inspector John Canning said several people at the house had been spoken to and one was was still helping with inquiries.

The town’s only pub, The Empire Hotel, lost its liquor licence in June following reported misbehaviour by local drinkers.

Kumara, on State Highway 73, has no community constable.

Westland mayor Maureen Pugh said it was a “real irony” that the killing had occurred just two weeks after she wrote to the West Coast police area commander John Canning outlining her concerns about the level of nuisance crime and trouble in the “usually lovely” town.

“I used the example of needless nuisance stuff that needs to be knocked on the head now before it turns into real crime.

Pugh said her letter had meant to outline the need for a community constable in Kumara.

However, it would be difficult for anyone to argue against the need for a constable in the town now, Pugh said.”

“But I doubt very much whether the people involved in this killing were the same people that had been involved in the minor stuff like throwing stones on people’s roofs.”

Ms Pugh said the impact of the man’s death would be felt throughout the town. .

“This is not a nice thing to happen on your back door step.

“This is not a nice thing to happen on your back door step

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A 15-year-old ringleader in a vicious street bashing and robbery in Lincoln Road has been sent for sentencing in the adult court after admitting his offending in the Youth Court today.

He is heading for a lengthy prison term – a sentence the Youth Court cannot impose. That suppression will be considered again at his District Court sentencing.

Judge John Strettell declined jurisdiction for the youth, whose name remains suppressed as a result of Youth Court reporting restrictions.

“Denunciation and protection of the public are highly relevant to the sentencing process and are best dealt with in the District Court. .

At least one victim was knocked unconscious when they were attacked with lengths of wood.”

The youth was a member of the YSK youth street gang which carried out of the mugging under the Lincoln Road overbridge at 2am on Sunday April 18, robbing youths aged 18 and 19 years who were walking home together.

The police said YSK stood for Young Skuxx Klicxx, a youth gang with between 10 and 20 members. One had a broken jaw and both had bruises and cuts to the head and face needing stitches.

Tuari Damyn Karipa-Rangi pleaded guilty in June and is due to be sentenced on Friday.

A 17-year-old schoolboy visiting Christchurch from Tokoroa over the school holidays was the other ringleader of the incident.

Youth advocate for the boy who admitted the aggravated robbery in court today, Elizabeth Bulger, said a plan had been formulated and agreed for him to be sent for a crown sentencing, but the date available was in December. He was the other youth brandishing the wood.

He said it had been an unprovoked attack against two young people.

Judge Strettell said he would arrange for that to be brought forward, because the delay was too long for such a young offender.

“There needs to be a clear message given that incidents of this type are not tolerated in Christchurch and that those who take part in and are ringleaders, and carry out violence of this type can expect little sympathy from the court.

A prison term for the length likely to be imposed was not available in the Youth Court.”

He said the youth’s age would be taken into account at the sentencing.

“That applies to young people of your age as much as any others.

The boy received hugs and kisses from family members before he was led back to the cells.

He remanded the boy in custody for two weeks so that an earlier crown sentencing date could be set.

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1500 take opportunity for walkabout on roundabout

Monday, 02 March 2009

Pedestrians braved the wind and rain to go walkabout on the roundabout, at the new Dowse Interchange on State Highway 2.
The interchange opened to traffic for the first time today but was open to pedestrians on Saturday, with a gold coin donation fee going to Te Omanga Hospice. Despite the wet weather, about 1500 people turned out.
She urged motorists to show caution while they familiarised themselves with the new route.
NZ Transport Agency's regional director, Deborah Hume, said there would be a period of adjustment to the new layout but she expected it to significantly improve traffic flow.
Work is continuing on the next stages of the $65 million project, including the construction of an overbridge at Korokoro.
Those keen to be among the first to drive the new stretch of road had to be up early it was expected to open at 2am.
Lower Hutt Mayor David Ogden, who walked the interchange on Saturday, was pleased with what he saw.
"What I found is that it's quite elevated it becomes a new entrance to the city and lifts the traffic. "It will bring a bit of order to the area and leave out some of the bottlenecking that happens.
"It really changes the vista. .
The next phase of the project involves the demolition of the old Korokoro bridge and the construction of a new overbridge and intersection."
The expressway-style roading and overbridge replace three sets of traffic signals between Dowse Drive and Petone that caused congestion, delays and accidents.
Final completion is scheduled for early next year.
Final completion is scheduled for early next year

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Sunnyvale granny robbed by teens

By LUKE PARKER – Tuesday, 10 February 2009

LUKE PARKER/
BAG SNATCHED: Heather Smith is warning others to watch out for thieves after having her handbag stolen.

A peaceful ride back from a shopping trip turned into a horrible experience for Sunnyvale grandmother Heather Smith, 65.
She was steering her mobility scooter along a cycleway just off Millbrook Rd on Saturday afternoon when her bag was snatched by one of three teenagers. .
She had hopped off the scooter to look at a garden when one of the boys swiped the bag.
The handbag was hanging off the scooter’s mirror. They walked past me towards a bridge ahead and then one turned around and came running back," she says. It contained a card wallet, passport, garage opener and coin purse with 80 cents.
"What worries me is a lot of elderly people use it to walk their dogs.
Mrs Smith has been using the cycleway two or three times a week for the past 18 months and says nothing like this has happened before.
"I’m pretty sure they would have taken the bag whether I was on the scooter or not," she says."
She warns people to be careful and not to carry a lot of money.
"Up until now I felt a bit sorry for some of the kids around here but after this I don’t. "It’s a horrible feeling."
Mrs Smith says trying to remember all the different cards in the wallet has been very frustrating."
Mrs Smith says trying to remember all the different cards in the wallet has been very frustrating. I don’t have a driver’s licence. I really want my passport back because that’s what I use for identification.
"I think I’ll sit on my wallet," she says."
Mrs Smith says the incident will not stop her going out.

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Police are investigating

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Sex assault on teen girl in toilet

Thursday, 29 January 2009

Hastings police are investigating a alleged sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl in a central city block of public toilets.
Senior sergeant Dave Greig said the girl was found wandering around the city centre in a "dazed and confused" condition around 8pm yesterday and was taken to the police station by members of the public.
The Hastings girl told police that between 6pm and 7pm she had been approached by a group of 5-6 teenage males outside the Russell Street public toilets
"She was allegedly taken into the toilet by those youths where her handbag was taken from her and allegedly sexually violated by one of those youths," Mr Greig said. The toilet block was cordoned off overnight and a scene examination would take place earlier today. .

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"At this stage we're appealing for any witnesses who were near the toilets between approximately 6-7pm last night to come forward," Mr Greig said

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Anti-Israel cafe standoff sparks protest

Aus-based Ambassador upset

Friday, 16 January 2009

WILL HINE/
YOUR MOVE: Israeli chess grandmaster Victor Mikhalavski, left, takes on Hilton Bennett in the Queenstown Chess Classic.

Peace group plans nationwide Gaza protests

Invercargill cafe breaches human rights

Reader comments

LATEST: A protest has broken out across from an Invercargill cafe where the owner refused to serve two Israeli women earlier this week.30pm today.
About 12 pro-Israel protestors gathered across the road from the Mevlana Cafe about 12.
He said he would not serve anyone from Israel until it stopped killing innocent babies and women in the Gaza Strip.
Mevlanaowner Mustafa Tekinkaya, a Turkish Muslim, told two Israeli women, Natalie Bennie and her sister Tamara Shefa, to leave his cafe on Wednesday.
Countering today's pro-Israel protestors were three supporters of Mr Tekinkaya's stand, who gathered outside his shop. Mr Tekinkaya, and his wife Joanne, said they had no family members living on the Gaza Strip."
"At this moment you don't need to bring the Middle East into New Zealand .
The protest action follows a call by Israel's ambassador to New Zealand- Australian-basedYuval Rotem – for ourgovernment to ensure nothing similar to happened again: "This anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish sentiment needs to be stopped…
Meanwhile,a spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission yesterday confirmed Mrs Bennie had lodged a complaint, while 15 others had called the commission. you need to take the spirit of New Zealand into the Middle East," he said.
And protests against Israel's military offensive on Gaza moved to an international chess tournament in Queenstown yesterday.
Race Relations commissioner Joris de Bres said it was illegal for providers of goods and services in New Zealand to discriminate in this way.
Signed by veteran protester John Minto, the letter said campaigners would ask tournament organisers to expel Mikhalevski if he did not voluntarily withdraw.
The Israeli top seed, Victor Mikhalevski, was asked to withdraw by Global Peace and Justice Auckland from the $50,000 tournament as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Mr Tekinkaya's action has sparked international media interest as well as debate within New Zealand.
However, Mikhalevski refused to bow out and his decision to remain in the tournament was backed by organisers.
Mr and Mrs Tekinkaya yesterday remained defiant.
More than 100 comments were posted on the Stuff website, with the vast majority condemning the cafe owner.
"No one's sticking up for them. .
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"… what happened to freedom of speech and the rights of a business to serve or not to serve?"
The cafe's neighbouring takeaway shop, Turkish Kebabs, also said on Wednesday it was not serving Israelis.
Mr Tekinkaya said he had received dozens of phone calls from people supporting him and a handful of calls opposed to his stance.
Mrs Bennie said from her home close to Invercargill she and her visiting Israeli sister had received over a dozen calls from strangers to say they were appalled by Mr Tekinkaya's stance.
Ambassador Rotem said New Zealand should not become part of the conflict and the government needed to make a declaration or statement giving the "red light" to such actions.
He expected "full fledged action" from the government and would address the issue when he visited New Zealand in the next few weeks, he said.
Foreign Affairs minister Murray McCully did not return calls last night.
Mrs Bennie commended the Israeli ambassador's actions, saying Mr Tekinkaya had displayed "anti-semitic" behaviour.
"He might as well have put a sign outside his shop saying `No Jews Allowed'."
Mrs Bennie said her mother, who lives in Israel, was concerned she could now become a target for New Zealand radical Muslims.
"It could be a possibility, you never know."
WHAT THEY SAID:
Israel's ambassador to New Zealand Yuval Rotem:
"This anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish sentiment needs to be stopped.
"At this moment you don't need to bring the Middle East into New Zealand … You need to take the spirit of New Zealand into the Middle East."
Mustafa Tekinkaya, Mevlana Cafe co-owner:
"Everyone is going on about racism. This has nothing to do with racism. This is all about the killing of innocent children."
Joanne Tekinkaya, Mevlana Cafe co-owner: "Those dead women and children don't have a voice. No one's sticking up for them. Innocent women and children are being punished, so how can we be quiet and stand by and support that … what happened to freedom of speech and the rights of a business to serve or not to serve?"
Natalie Bennie, Israeli national ordered out of the Mevlana Cafe in Invercargill:
"It was very anti-semitic behaviour.
"He (Mustafa Tekinkaya) might as well have put a sign outside his shop saying `No Jews Allowed'."

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Air NZ crash: Fyfe arrives in France

By ADRIENNE BOURGEON – Sunday, 30 November 2008

Experts at a loss to explain Airbus tragedy

Rob Fyfe’s longest, saddest day

Air New Zealand staff in Perpignan sincerely wish to retrieve their colleagues and return them home, the airline's chief executive Rob Fyfe said at a press conference in the southern French town today.
"Our primary goal is to retrieve our colleagues and return them to New Zealand; that is our sincere wish," a visibly shaken Fyfe told reporters shortly after arriving on a 30-hour flight.
Accompanied by members of one of the families involved, Mr Fyfe made the decision to travel to Perpignan to ensure that everything possible was being done to help.
Since the company was of the accident advised two days ago, the focus has been on supporting the families of the crew aboard the crashed Airbus, he said.
"We don't think anything more could be done and that has been very important for the families of the people who were aboard the aircraft.
Before leaving New Zealand, hespoke to Prime Minister John Key, and said that both the Prime Minister and Air New Zealand were tremendously gratified by the French authorities' effort to search for survivors. Members of three more families are expected from New Zealand in the next two days."
Mr Fyfe arrived in Perpignan accompanied by a team of investigators and several police officers.
Recoveredfrom the submerged wreck off the coast of Perpignan by police divers today, Alzeari said that the "black box" – in reality fluorescent orange – contained the recorded conversation between the pilots in the last minutes leading up to the crash.
The flight recorder retrieved from the crashed Air New Zealand Airbus is to be taken to Paris tomorrow (Sunday, French time) for analysis, Perpignan’s Procureur-Adjoint, Dominique Alzeari said.
A second flight recorder, containing technical data about the flight, such as speed, altitude and navigation information was also precisely located today, but aheavy swell and visibility reduced to only 20 centimetres prevented divers from bringing it to the surface, but he hoped it could be recovered tomorrow (Sunday French time).
It was in one piece and held vital information that should be known within 48 hours, he told reporters at a press conference on Saturday night (French time) in Perpignan.
It was still far too early however, to speculate on the cause of the crash, its origins or the responsibility of those involved.
It would take several days for the all the information to be pieced together,Alzeari said.46pm on Thursday (French time) when two of the seven crew members were found.
No further bodies have been discovered since the crash occured at 4. .
Unfortunately thecondition of the two bodies means they have yetto be visually identified.
Alzearisaid that some of the bodies may still be in the cockpit, the most rigid and reinforced part of the aircraft, which has not yet been accessed.
Themain priority for investigators was to identify the bodies with rapidity and dignity.

. Much of the debris has now been located and covers an area 800m long, 400m wide and 40m deep

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Child rapist already in jail for sex crimes

Friday, 07 November 2008

A Napierman found guilty of sexually abusing two young girls was already behind bars awaiting sentence for abusing another two girls.
An interim order for name suppression was lifted yesterday. Richard Miller was waiting to be sentenced for sexual offending when a jury this week found him guilty of raping a young girl and abusing another. He had been barred from associating with anyone under 16.
Miller has been in custody since April when his electronic bail was revoked after it was found he had breached bail conditions by holding birthday parties for toddlers.
He was found guilty of committing an indecent act on the six-year-old in a car at Nelson Park on September 19.
Miller, 46, was found guilty in the High Court at Napier on Wednesday of six charges relating to girls aged 6 and 10. Five other convictions, including two of rape, involved a 10-year-old girl and occurred in 1990.
He was convicted on two representative charges of indecently assaulting two girls, aged 15 and 16, between February 2006 and February 2007.
His other convictions came after an earlier trial in August. The 16-year-old had stayed with Miller and his wife for a short time.
The 15-year-old was a family friend.
He is due to be sentenced on December 16 – eight days after he is due to be sentenced in the High Court on the other convictions.
Miller was found guilty on August 14 after a two-day trial in Napier District Court.