Supreme Court dismisses appeal by Taito Phillip Field

Thursday 27th October 2011 3 Comments

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal by former Labour Party MP Taito Phillip Field.

Field was released from prison on parole earlier this month after serving a third of a six-year sentence for bribery and corruption.

Field was found guilty on 11 counts of corruptly accepting benefits in connection with acts carried out by him in his role as a member of parliament and on 15 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He unsuccessfully challenged the convictions in the Court of Appeal and appealed to the Supreme Court on the charges of corruptly accepting benefits.

Field was a member of parliament between 1993 and 2008 and held three associate minister portfolios between 2003 and 2005.

He received plastering, painting and tiling services from Thai nationals for providing immigration assistance. The Crown case said the value of the services received was in excess of $50,000.

The Supreme Court said that while it was satisfied that the acceptance of gifts should not be considered corrupt, the acceptance of other benefits in connection with official actions was rightly regarded as corrupt irrespective of whether there was an antecedent promise or bargain.

There was a fundamental conflict between the representations he was making and the fact that he was receiving quid pro quo benefits for doing so, the court said.

The New Zealand Parole Board said Field worked on prison ground parties and was an excellent worker.

He obtained 17 unit standards in grounds maintenance, six unit standards in catering Level Two of the New Zealand quality assurance framework. He has also completed the quality assurance qualification of a National Certificate in Horticulture.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 31 October 2011 at 4:23 pm Free Taito said:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Taito-Phillip-Field/139430422807813?sk=wall&filter=1

On 31 October 2011 at 5:31 pm Nia said:

taito never should have been tried or convicted of those bogus charges. it was a big conspiracy to oust him from parliament because he was the only polynesian representative in there...and samoans worldwide should have rallied round to support him and for those that helped to convict him, shame on you...we really need to stop letting jealousy step in the way of you condemning a man who is intelligent and has proved to be a great advocate for the polynesian people...really study and understand situations before you jump...because the damage you do can take a lifetime to fix...I hope Taito is freed soon, god bless you Taito...

On 4 November 2011 at 6:55 pm Allan said:

He is a CROOK, again A Crook, convicted, jailed and after appeals confirmed as a crook. I trust he is never put in a position of power ever again. Nia you sound like a nice person, find a real role model to follow not this arrogant crook that was given much but took more