According to documents released to the Herald, one of the complainants said in a statement she met Malifa in 2010 and afterward he texted her. They struck up a relationship and she considered him her boyfriend- unaware Malifa was married.
Malifa gave her a blue collared uniform police shirt, but subsequently texted her instructing her to 'burn the shirt that I gave you'.
It's against police policy to give civilians police uniforms because of the risk they will be worn illegitimately. Under the police code of conduct uniforms must be stored and secured against theft or loss.
The transcript of Malifa's police interview also references that police searched his home with a warrant, but were unable to find his police notebooks from his time as a front line officer between 2008 and 2013.
Police notebooks contain notes of conversations and details of incidents police attend and often contain personal information and valuable details. They are often used and relied on in court cases.
Malifa told police he had lost the books and didn't know where they were.
Officer in charge of the case Detective Inspector Hayden Mander said the shirt was still being kept as evidence but would eventually be destroyed. Had Malifa still been with police there could have been employment repercussions but Mander didn't want to "speculate" on what those might have been.
Malifa's notebooks were also never found but to Mander's knowledge their loss hadn't impeded other investigations, or their own of Malifa: "It's certainly preferable (police) keep our documents safe and secure."
Statements given by the complainants show the majority of them alleged they were uncomfortable being contacted by Malifa.
One of Malifa's relationships with a complainant, who described herself as "vulnerable" lasted for years' before she said in her statement she got "fed up".
"I wouldn't hear from him for a month and a half or two months and then he would message me full on for four or five days until I agreed to see him. He would come over...and then I wouldn't hear from him for ages," the statement says.
"There was so much manipulation and so many lies. But he did it in a way that made it feel like it was my fault...He told me that if I tried to find out anything about him or 'upset' his life that I would be sorry. He said, 'I've worked too hard to get to where I (am) and if you f--- thing up for me..."
In an interview with police Malifa admitted his offending and agreed he was "trying it on" . He said he should never have joined the police and after an investigation was launched was too embarrassed to go to work, and instead took sick days and annual leave, before resigning.
"I just wish it had never happened, wish I'd never joined. I was, um, obviously nervous of getting caught," a transcript of his interview records. "I guess after the first couple...I grew in confidence but um, um yeah to be honest, uh at the end it got to the point where I was just doing it with every sort of person, every opportunity I guess."
In response to queries from the Herald Malifa declined to comment, but said he couldn't remember giving the uniform away and said he was trying to rebuild his life.
At his sentencing Judge Heemi Taumaunu described Malifa as predatory and his offending had brought shame and embarrassment on the police.
