Driving tester appears in court

A West Auckland driving tester has appeared in court today, charged with dishonestly using a document to issue a driving licence for financial gain.

Peter William Hjorring, 56, entered no plea in Waitakere District Court and was remanded on bail to reappear early next month.

He did not seek name suppression.

Hjorring is a contract testing officer based at the Westgate AA Express licensing centre but employed by a private firm, NZ Driver L:icensing (1998), which runs all practical road tests for the Government licensing agency Land Transport New Zealand.

His arrest on Wednesday came a day after Land Transport NZ called in police to help with an inquiry it says it began several weeks ago into allegations of licensing fraud in Auckland's Asian community.

The agency says it would have involved the police regardless of hidden camera footage shown on TV on Monday.

The investigation continues with the police indicating it could become a prolonged exercise.

- HERALD STAFF