Detectives widen Super City probe to Tauranga, Hamilton

Mark Gutry. Photo / Natalie Slade

Police have widened their probe into a possible Super City voting scam to cover hundreds of people living in Hastings, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Detective Inspector Mark Gutry said yesterday people from throughout the North Island had enrolled to vote in the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board.

One source told the Herald that more than 300 voters from Hastings, Tauranga and Hamilton were enrolled, and another 100 voters from Papakura had been shifted to the Papatoetoe subdivision.

Auckland electoral officer Dale Ofsoske has also given police information about a Papakura company which allegedly tried to re-enrol hundreds of people from within Auckland and outside it as well to Papatoetoe.

A political candidate has told authorities of four people living at a house at Kindergarten Drive in Conifer Grove whose votes were transferred from the Papakura Local Board to Papatoetoe. The four were among 48 voters with Indian names registered at a house in Puhinui Rd, Papatoetoe.

Last night, one of two Labour Party candidates in the Papatoetoe subdivision, Daljit Singh, said police had visited his real estate office in Papatoetoe and taken his laptop computer.

He planned to talk to his lawyer to arrange a meeting with the police.

Mr Singh said he had done nothing wrong and was the victim of a politically motivated smear campaign.

Two Indian candidates standing for the right-leaning Citizens & Ratepayers group, Avtar Hans and Narinder Kumar Singla, have vehemently denied running a smear campaign, or any wrongdoing.

Papatoetoe Community Board chairman Stephen Grey was alarmed about the alleged bid to influence the result and the possibility of the local board election turning into a sham.

"We haven't seen corruption like this in our electoral system, probably ever," Mr Grey said.

Voting papers went out last Friday, and 12 per cent of postal votes had been returned in the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board yesterday.

This is one of the highest figures in Auckland, where 8.8 per cent of ballot papers had been returned.

Jatinderpal Singh, who lives at the Kindergarten Drive address, was surprised to hear that he was one of 48 voters registered at a Puhinui Rd address in Papatoetoe. He produced his voting papers to show he was now enrolled in Papakura.

At an address in Station Rd, Takanini, Rajdip Kaur was shocked to find that she was one of 39 voters enrolled at a Pembroke St property in Papatoetoe. Her husband and mother-in-law live with her and were also listed as being at Pembroke St.

Ms Kaur said her voting papers had not arrived and she was concerned that someone could re-enroll her at another address without her knowledge.

She said a police officer had questioned her, but she did not have information that could help.

Mr Gutry said police were making good progress - up to 40 officers are working on the inquiry - and hoped to wrap up matters before the postal election closed on October 9.

Officers were still visiting addresses to check enrolments.

Last week, 306 people were removed from the roll after the Electoral Enrolment Centre found they were not living at addresses given in Papatoetoe.

HERALD INVESTIGATION
* A hundred voters in Papakura and more than 300 from other areas have allegedly been re-enrolled in Papatoetoe.
* Auckland electoral officer Dale Ofsoske has given police information about a Papakura company which tried to re-enrol hundreds of voters in Papatoetoe.
* Police have taken a computer from Labour candidate Daljit Singh.