Two a penny

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A man who stabbed an Auckland father as he supervised his daughter’s 16th birthday party has been found guilty of attempted murder.

A jury of nine woman and three men found Raymond Tonumaalii, 32, guilty of the charge at the High Court in Auckland this afternoon. .

“I wanted to know why he had stabbed me, I wanted him to look me in the eye and know what reason he had to kill me.

On Monday Mr Matamata told the court he learnt why Tonumaalii attacked him after sitting next to him at an earlier depositions hearing at Waitakere District Court.”

Mr Matamata said Tonumaalii said he had mistaken Mr Matamata for the man that had beaten him up at the party earlier.

“My children could have lost their father that day.

“I said, no mate, I was one of the guys that saved ya.

Crown prosecutor Warren Cathcart said Mr Matamata had been at home “minding his own business” about 2am on April 6 last year when he was attacked with a knife.”

Tonumaalii then apologised to him, Mr Matamata told the court.

Mr Matamata said he could remember little of the struggle.

The stabbing was seen by several teenagers, including Mr Matamata’s children, Mr Cathcart said.”

Tonumaalii suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.

“He had a knife, I was unarmed, I was just doing the best I could to stay alive.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day. I was calm and collected and ready to take his life,” Tonumaalii said to the officer.

“I walked up to him and he laughed at me so I stabbed him in the chest.

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Tonumaalii had later denied he stabbed Mr Matamata

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Police have charged Paremoremo inmate George Baker after he allegedly took another man hostage in the Auckland prison the previous month.

Baker, 28, will appear in North Shore District Court charged with kidnapping, assault with a weapon and threatening to kill.

He was believed to have been armed with a makeshift knife and was demanding a transfer to a less secure unit.

The charges are in relation to an incident at Paremoremo prison the previous month when Baker, who has a history of mental health problems, allegedly took another man hostage with weapons improvised from the prison’s recreation room. .

Baker eventually freed his hostage, believed to have been an elderly sex offender, and gave himself up peacefully.

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Baker is due to appear on 18 September

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A desire for retribution led three men to beat to death a Hamilton man on the side of an Auckland highway, a High Court jury has been told.

Ahmad Matlobyaygazwini, 35, TualeFuimaono, 28 and Ali Rafiee, 28, have been jointly charged with the murder of Bjorn Henderson, 28. A jury of six men and six womanwas selected at theHigh Court in Aucklandthis morning beforeJusticeGraham Lang.

Mr Henderson’s lifeless body wasabandoned at the Auckland Hospital emergency departmenton March 10last year.

The crown alleged that one of the accused,Matlobyaygazwini, had been a dealer of methamphetamine at the time of the murder and had been a “close associate” ofthe victim.

In her opening address crown prosecutor Kristin Lummis said that all three men were responsible for the death of Mr Henderson.”

“The involvement with drugs set the scene and provided the catalyst for Mr Henderson’s murder. .

Ms Lummis said this robbery had left Matlobyaygazwini “furious”.”

The court heard how several days before the murder Mr Henderson had “ripped off” Matlobyaygazwini, stealing a “considerable amount” of methamphetamine and assaulting him in a motel room.”

On the day of his death, Ms Lummis said Matlobyaygazwini had “lured” Mr Henderson to a house on the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway to exact revenge.

“He decided to exact retribution against Mr Henderson for what had occurred.

Finding himself wedged between a car and a concrete wall Henderson attempted to escape by jumping over a neighbouring hedge, Ms Lummis said.

When Mr Henderson realised Matlobyaygazwini and his associate Rafieewere alreadyat the address, he attempted to flee, but the driveway had been barricaded by acar driven by Faimaono.”

The crown allege that when the three men caught up with Mr Henderson they brutally assaulted him, inflictingnumerous heavy blows.

“Unfortunately for Mr Henderson he did not get very far.

After the assault Mr Henderson was left lying critically injured on a neighbouringdriveway until an associate picked him up and attempted to tend to his wounds.

Oneblow to the back of the head had caused bleeding on thebrain and eventually killed him, Mr Lummis said.

When hospital staff discovered Henderson “it was clear he was dead”, Ms Lummis said.

However, Mr Henderson was not taken to the emergency department until after midnight when two prostitutes – who saw him lying injured in the back of a car – insisted the associate take him to hospital.

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Guides are being praised for the speed with which they dug out two skiers buried alive by an avalanche of 100 metric tonnes of snow and ice. .

The second buried ski tourist was dug out within nine minutes and survived unscathed.

The dead man’s name had not been released last night.

The surviving man has been named by the Sydney Morning Herald as Melbourne multi-millionaire John Castran, 53, and the and other tourist – who was caught in the avalanche but not buried in snow – was said to be his son Angus Castran.

The Mountain Safety Council had issued a warning about avalanches in the Ragged Range, close to Methven, only hours earlier, saying the danger level was high.

The three Australian tourists were with two guides from Methven Heliski.

Police, the council and the Labour Department are all investigating.

It was remarkable the guides dug the tourists out so quickly.

Council avalanche programme manager Steve Schreiber said the group had been skiing for four or five hours before triggering the avalanche, which was about 200 metres wide.”

‘HE SHOULDN’T HAVE DIED’

Methven Heliski director Kevin Boekholt, one of the two guides in the expedition, said the dead man was buried a metre down. “It’s pretty heroic to be able to have the skills to get these people out, who are so deep, and to get them all out. He was under the snow but there’s a lot of air in snow. “He had his head up and he had no snow in his mouth. He shouldn’t have died. He shouldn’t have died. “We skied all over the world together.

He had skied with the dead man for 25 years. He’s like one of my best friends. We hang out together all the time. Mr Heuchan, 33, fell into a crevasse and was buried by snow.”

A mountain guide for more than 25 years, Mr Boekholt received a bravery medal from the Royal Humane Society, after he and two other guides worked in vain to save the life of Australian heli-skier Joshua Heuchan in 2004. “They were able to distinguish his track marks and began probing.

Westpac rescue helicopter general manager Simon Duncan said the guides used avalanche probes to search for the buried man who died.

Statistics showed a person buried for up to 18 minutes had a 93 per cent chance of survival.”

He described the area the group was in as extremely remote. “I suspect there was something else going on, maybe an underlying illness related to this. “I suspect there was something else going on, maybe an underlying illness related to this.”

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About 500 residents of a tiny East Coast community are expected to be isolated tonight as rivers continue to rise and heavy rain continues to pound the region.

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Gisborne’s Civil Defence emergency operation was activated about 9.

The rising Waipaoa River at Te Karaka, 32km northwest of Gisborne, was expected to reach 9.30am today as rivers around the Poverty Bay and Uawa catchments rose past warning levels, in the face of continuing south-easterly rain.

About 500 people at Te Karaka were expected to be isolated tonight, she said.5m this evening, and was expected to cut off the two access roads into the community, Gisborne District Council spokeswoman Toni Lexmond said.

Nine residents from Mangatuna, 65km northeast of Gisborne, were evacuated earlier today as the Hikuwai/Uawa River ran high.

While there was no danger to houses or people, residents who wanted to get out of the area should do so before 4pm, Ms Lexmond said.

Tolaga Bay, Whangara, Ngatapa, Waerenga-o-Kuri and Mangatuna schools were closed, and school buses were sent out to pick up rural children from city schools and get them home before more roads closed.

Rainfall totals reached the 180mm mark in both the Waipaoa and Uawa catchments, with a further heavy rain warning for another 150mm-200mm in the hills around Gisborne and Tolaga Bay from 8am today until 2pm tomorrow.

A Civil Defence emergency had not been declared at this stage, she said.

The rain was expected to create a number of road closures through slips and flooding and areas of surface flooding over the next few days, Ms Lexmond said.

Yesterday’s storm brought more than 1000 bolts of forked lightning to Auckland and Northland, while heavy rain caused slips and flooding, resulting in road closures in the central North Island and Manawatu.

Heavy rain warnings were earlier lifted for the Coromandel Peninsula as severe weather that brought slips and flooding yesterday moved away.

The MetService said today the vigorous low that had caused the storm was now sitting north of the Bay of Plenty and was predicted to move slowly east or southeast.

Rain also caused slips in the Manawatu Gorge and contractors were called in to keep the road open.

Snow warnings were also issued for the Desert Road in the central North Island and Porters Pass in central Canterbury. .

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Fallout from failed firm

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

/The
DREAM DASHED: Shona Shaw paid David Reid Homes Wellington a $42,200 deposit for a new home that has not been built. She is still waiting for a $25,000 refund, agreed to after lawyers’ negotiations.

Disgruntled clients and subcontractors left out of pocket by a failed Wellington building company are angry.
It is the fourth David Reid business to go under in recent months, after Manawatu, Pukekohe and Marlborough franchisees were declared insolvent.
David Reid Homes Wellington went into voluntary liquidation on Monday, leaving at least 10 houses half-built and owing contractors thousands.
The building consents were secured and the section readied but then work stopped.
Solo mother Shona Shaw paid David Reid Homes Wellington a $42,200 deposit in October 2007 to build her "dream home" in Churton Park.
"Nothing happened."
In July, she told him she wanted her money back. I kept phoning [the franchisee] Steve Franklin to ask why nothing was happening.
Ms Shaw is still waiting.
After protracted negotiations between their respective lawyers, Mr Franklin agreed to repay $25,000..
"He told me cash flow was tight but I would get it as soon as he had it …
As well as losing her money, she has been paying rent on a house for herself and her two children since selling her house in June. ."
Another homeowner, who is waiting for his house to be completed, said the first he knew of the collapse was when he opened his yesterday.
"That's when I expected to move into my dream home. But he is angry it took two years to build instead of six to nine months and ran $150,000 over budget.
His house is largely complete, but needs "finishing touches" and a compliance certificate."
Painter John Braddock is owed $49,000 by David Reid Homes.
"I kept having to pay up but he couldn't say what had happened to the money.
"We went and did another four houses after that, and won't get paid for those either.
He said payment had been "a bit slow" for some time, but he was reassured after a meeting in October with Mr Franklin and David Reid Homes general manager Ben Allan, who told him "everything would be fine".
Michael Bartoli, whose house was mostly completed by David Reid Homes two years ago, said he was still waiting for some "finishing touches" and repairs, such as a crack in the garage floor and painting.
Michael Bartoli, whose house was mostly completed by David Reid Homes two years ago, said he was still waiting for some "finishing touches" and repairs, such as a crack in the garage floor and painting.
He had contacted Mr Franklin repeatedly about the work. "They made out as if it was the painter's fault for not doing the work, but I think the painter must have been owed money too."
He is now employing plasterers and painters at his own expense to finish the job.
"But at least my house is finished."
Mr Franklin could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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Knife found in tourist sex attack

By CLIO FRANCIS and NATASHA HOLLAND – Friday, 16 January 2009

Supplied
POSSIBLE WEAPON: A knife and a piece of cloth police say was possibly used in the attack on a Dutch couple in Tuatapere on Thursday morning.

Police hunt for man after tourists attacked

Police have released a photo of a filleting knife which may have been used in a brutal sex attack on two Dutch tourists in Southland yesterday morning.40am.
Invercargill police said a male attacker broke into a vehicle the pair were sleeping inat a Tuatapere camping ground around 6.
Detective Sergeant David Nelson said police thought the filleting knife, which was found close to the crime scene, could be related to the violent attack.
The pair – a 22-year-old female and a 25-year-old male – were then threatened with a knife and the woman was raped.
Mr Nelson said it had been hard for the victims to describe their attacker offender because his face had been covered throughout their ordeal.
"If anyone has information about where the knife originated from we would like to know about it," he said. .
The offender has been desribed as having a "square shaped head'' and is believed to be olive-skinned Caucasian or light-skinned Polynesian or Maori.
He said the tourists plan to continue their trip around New Zealand.
Mr Nelson said the victims were being well looked after in "the traditional Southern way", with help from Tourism New Zealand, Victim Support, the Holiday Parks association and the Dutch Embassy.
Anyone with information should contact Mr Nelson on 03 211 0400.

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Knife found in tourist sex attack

By CLIO FRANCIS and NATASHA HOLLAND – Friday, 16 January 2009

Supplied
POSSIBLE WEAPON: A knife and a piece of cloth police say was possibly used in the attack on a Dutch couple in Tuatapere on Thursday morning.

Police hunt for man after tourists attacked

Police have released a photo of a filleting knife which may have been used in a brutal sex attack on two Dutch tourists in Southland yesterday morning.40am.
Invercargill police said a male attacker broke into a vehicle the pair were sleeping inat a Tuatapere camping ground around 6.
Detective Sergeant David Nelson said police thought the filleting knife, which was found close to the crime scene, could be related to the violent attack.
The pair – a 22-year-old female and a 25-year-old male – were then threatened with a knife and the woman was raped.
Mr Nelson said it had been hard for the victims to describe their attacker offender because his face had been covered throughout their ordeal.
"If anyone has information about where the knife originated from we would like to know about it," he said. .
The offender has been desribed as having a "square shaped head'' and is believed to be olive-skinned Caucasian or light-skinned Polynesian or Maori.
He said the tourists plan to continue their trip around New Zealand.
Mr Nelson said the victims were being well looked after in "the traditional Southern way", with help from Tourism New Zealand, Victim Support, the Holiday Parks association and the Dutch Embassy.
Anyone with information should contact Mr Nelson on 03 211 0400.

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Kites conquer strait

The Tuesday, 09 December 2008

A pair of Wellington kite-surfers have crossed Cook Strait and one of them almost made it all the way back again.
Louis Tapper and Alistair Quinn, both in their 30s, had spent six months planning their 26km adventure and were hoping for perfect wind conditions yesterday.
They set off from Wellington about 10am, passing a 2m shark, with Tapper arriving at Arapawa Island, at the head of the Marlborough Sounds, about 2.
A lack of wind in Quinn's kite pushed him south to land near Tory Channel.30pm.30pm.
Though the plan was for a one-way crossing, Tapper attempted the trip back, coming within 4km of Wellington when the wind died at 5.
Kite-surfing involves a person riding a small, twin-tip surfboard with a large kite harnessed to the waist. The pair raised more than $2000 for the Westpac rescue helicopter. .

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What aircrash victims’ families get for compo

By ESTHER HARWARD – Sunday, 07 December 2008

The families of three Air New Zealand engineers killed in the Airbus A320 disaster are entitled to $150,000 compensation from the airline, according to their employment contracts.
Pilot Brian Horrell, who was also killed in the crash, was likely to have a contract that entitles his family to more.
Air New Zealand has refused all comment on the sensitive issue of compensation, including whether the amounts paid on behalf of the four staff will differ.
Families can claim from ACC a $5500 funeral grant; $5500 survivor's grant for expenses such as travelling to the funeral; and weekly payments of 80% of the deceased's salary, if the person was the sole breadwinner, until the youngest child turns 18.
But the airline payouts, coupled with ACC entitlements, could see compensation amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for each family.
Five New Zealanders were killed when the Air NZ A320 Airbus plunged into the Mediterranean sea close to Canet, southern France, nine days ago during a 90-minute acceptance flight scheduled before XL Airways returned the plane to Air New Zealand.
According to a government career advice website, pilots who fly internationally earn up to $250,000 while engineers can earn up to $130,000 a year if they are in supervisory management positions.
The crash claimed two German pilots as well as the three Air New Zealand engineers and a captain, and a CAA inspector.
Air New Zealand would not explain the discrepancy.
The Air New Zealand Aircraft Engineering Employees Collective Agreement has no upper limit on how much dependants can claim if staff die in a work-related accident but there is a clause limiting payouts to $150,000 if the accident occurs while a plane is being tested, as was the case with the crash off the coast of France.
But because no Kiwi aircraft engineer has died on the job until now, the Aviation and Marine Engineers Association has broken new ground interpreting rules in the collective agreement over compensation for death. .
The Civil Aviation Authority is also remaining tight-lipped on compensation for the family of its inspector, the fifth New Zealander killed in the crash.
Sources close to the union said there had been concerns that the agreement could allow Air New Zealand to deduct any extra compensation received by families such as payouts from individual life insurance policies but it is understood the airline has agreed to keep its contribution intact. It is the first time a CAA inspector has been killed in an air crash. It is the first time a CAA inspector has been killed in an air crash. Talks with XL Airways had been "very constructive .
The airline did not expect a legal wrangle over who would pay for the wrecked aircraft…
The list price for a new A320 aircraft ranges from US$73. Our view is that the financial liability rests with XL Airways as the aircraft operator and we understand they accept that position".6m.2 million (NZ$138m) to US$80. The Department of Labour is not involved.
New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission has been given accredited status by French authorities to take part in the crash investigation.