News 6
Ashburton Guardian
www.guardianonline.co.nz
Saturday, August 17, 2013
In brief Cannabis arrests Two Ashburton males were arrested on Thursday for possession of cannabis. They will appear in Ashburton District Court at the next sitting date.
Theft in Rakaia Police are seeking information into an attempted diesel theft in Rakaia on Wednesday. They will continue their inquiries into the incident.
Benefit fraud remand A Buller woman has admitted receiving over $63,000 in benefit payments she was not entitled to. Anne-Marie Louise Quinn, 45, of Inangahua Junction, pleaded guilty in Westport District court yesterday to two charges of taking, obtaining, or using a document for pecuniary advantage. She received total overpayments of $63,046.44, which she had made arrangements to repay. - WPN
Doctor denies charges A young woman’s mental health issues led to her lying about a sexual relationship with her doctor, a tribunal was told yesterday. Closing arguments were heard in the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal hearing of a doctor accused of having a sexual relationship with a patient, and paying her about $40,000 to encourage her to mislead authorities about their relationship. The doctor denies the charges, but accepts he breached professional boundaries by entering into a friendship with her after their doctor-patient relationship had ended. The tribunal reserved its decision. - APNZ
Celebrating all things Maori Three Ashburton schools showcased their appreciation for everything Maori through kapahaka, waiata and poi performances in Timaru yesterday. Hampstead (pictured), Netherby and Ashburton Borough schools travelled south to compete in the annual Flavour Festival, where they put their cultural performances to the test against hundreds of other youngsters from across Mid-South Canterbury. “It’s also a great chance for children to perform on a big stage in front of a whole lot of strangers with performances they have been practising,” Netherby School principal Andrew Leverton said. PHOTO 160813-MH-002
Dolphins prefer cleaner water A cleaner Whangarei Harbour may be why a pod of dolphins has been using it as their playground. Marine mammal expert In-
grid Visser has praised Whangarei District Council for its new wastewater treatment process which has eliminated the largest pathogen source entering the harbour. “Finally the dolphins that are frequenting our harbour
are not being harmed by our pollution,” she said. At Wednesday’s WDC infrastructure and services committee, councillor Sue Glen said six large dolphins were spotted in the harbour last week. Ms Vis-
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ser said the dolphins were likely to be bottlenose dolphins. She said while she has many years of records of dolphins and whales entering the harbour, it is now a healthier environment for them. - NAD
A former accountant jailed for stealing more than $4.2 million from one family has had his appeal against his sentence dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Gary Soffe, 54, was sentenced at Hamilton District Court in 2011 to five years and one month in prison, with a minimum period of imprisonment of two years and six and a half months, on one charge of false accounting and nine of theft by a person in a special relationship. Soffe’s lawyer, Richard Barnsdale, initially appealed against both the conviction and sentence to the Court of Appeal at Auckland, but later dropped the appeal against conviction due to “a series of apparently fatal obstacles”, said the Court of Appeal decision.
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Appeal dismissed