Ms Aim's flatmate Lisa Hughes said the postponement and possible change of plea was frustrating for parents Brian and Allen Aim, whose main purpose for being in New Zealand was to see their daughter's case resolved. They will leave the country a day after the rescheduled court date.
"First he pleads guilty, then possibly not guilty... it is very heart-wrenching for everyone involved."
Associate Professor Bill Hodge from the University of Auckland Law Faculty said it was very rare for a judge to allow a change in plea.
"Technically it is barely possible but you would have to really show some extraordinary, extreme, unusual circumstances. They really don't like it," he said.
Professor Hodge said if Broughton lodged an appeal he would be asking the judge to rule his guilty plea was not a voluntary plea and he did not understand what he was doing at the time. "That is a pretty big hurdle."
Broughton's new lawyer, Chris Wilkinson-Smith, said a number of legal issues had caused the sentencing to be postponed.
He said he had not had the file for long and needed more time to discuss the case with his client and family before Broughton was sentenced.
"I was only instructed last week so we are just asking for more time so we can look at the file. We asked for two weeks' time and the first available court date was at the end of March."
Mr Wilkinson-Smith replaced Bill Lawson, who had been acting for Broughton since the boy was charged with the murder 12 months ago.
Broughton was committed to trial in the High Court in Rotorua following a depositions hearing in the Taupo Youth Court last September which found there was a case to answer.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA
