What’s next for Philip Polkinghorne? Remuera eye surgeon’s lawyers possibly seeking discharge on meth charges

Philip Polkinghorne’s lawyers have asked for his methamphetamine-related charges to be withheld so they can consider whether to seek a discharge without conviction.

On Monday, the former eye surgeon was acquitted on murder and manslaughter charges relating to the death of his wife, but could face jail time when he returns to court in November.

On the first day of the eight-week trial back in July, Polkinghorne pleaded guilty to methamphetamine-related charges – relating to 37 grams of meth seized by police from his Upland Rd Remuera house and a P pipe that was found under his bed.

He entered guilty pleas to possession of methamphetamine, which carries a maximum punishment of six months’ imprisonment, and possession of a methamphetamine pipe, which is punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment.

The charges were not allowed to be reported following Hanna’s death, but suppression lapsed with the admission of guilt.

Polkinghorne is due to reappear in the High Court at Auckland on November 1 for sentencing on his methamphetamine charges.

Polkinghorne’s lawyers asked for convictions to be withheld so they could consider whether to seek a discharge without conviction.

Philip Polkinghorne leaves the High Court at Auckland after the not-guilty verdict. Photo / Dean Purcell

Police found a P pipe in Philip Polkinghorne's bedroom. Photo / NZ Police

Methamphetamine use became a major part of the Crown’s narrative for the circumstantial case against the 71-year-old now-retired ophthalmologist, who was accused of having fatally strangled wife Pauline Hanna, 63, inside their Remuera home before staging the scene on April 5, 2021, to look like a suicide by hanging.

Although Polkinghorne began the trial by pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine and a meth pipe found in his home as police investigated the suspicious death, his lawyer suggested through cross-examination a pipe found at his workplace in October 2020 – five months before Hanna’s death – was not his.

Registered nurse at Auckland Eye, Janet Wigmore, said she was “showing the ropes” to two staff members on a Monday morning when she walked into the office complex’s retinal laser room and found a methamphetamine pipe and lighter on a table immediately to the right of the entrance.

“I backtracked and closed the door,” the registered nurse told jurors during the trial.

A "Sweet Puff" meth pipe and lighter found in an Auckland Eye clinic consultation room used by Philip Polkinghorne.

She alerted operations manager Tracey Malloy, who followed Wigmore in the witness box. Malloy explained that they moved the pipe into her office and called police, who asked if there had been a break-in.

“Return it to the person it belongs to,” Malloy recalled police advising her, to which she responded that she didn’t know who the drug paraphernalia belonged to. They responded: “Well, throw it out.”

Malloy did toss the pipe, with the words “sweet puff” etched on the side, in the non-recycling bin. It was later retrieved after Auckland Eye hired an employment law firm to conduct an independent investigation. The owner of the pipe was never determined.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.