Editorial: Arson guilty plea was right move

An 18-year-old has pleaded guilty to setting alight the pirate ship and Splash Planet.

Kynan Andrew Motley's decision to plead guilty to deliberately setting fire to Splash Planet's pirate ship is certainly the only right decision he has made in this whole sorry saga.

The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to arson, a charge of wilful damage, and two of burglary, relating to the fire and an incident at a Hastings school, when he appeared in the Hastings District Court yesterday.

He was one of three teenagers arrested in the wake of the fire which destroyed the ship early on Easter Sunday. The two other youths, aged 16 and 15, have appeared in the Youth Court.

Judge Pat Grace remanded the Hastings teenager on bail until his sentencing on June 12. Arson carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Clearly Motley had mischief on his mind when he left a party that night and he obviously thought torching the attraction would be a lark.

What he has learnt is that wilful damage and arson is not a joke and there will be consequences. Destroying property, be it public or private, is just not okay and what makes this crime worse is that it destroyed an attraction that has been a source of fun for many youngsters since 1977. Who knows the sentence the judge will hand down, but hopefully whatever his punishment, Motley will learn from this and go on to achieve something in his life. Equally it will be good if a strong message has been sent to any other bored youngster looking for trouble.

Finally special mention should be made of the vigilant member of the public who raised the alarm after seeing young people running from the fire. Good on you. We must never tolerant criminal behaviour.