Inexperience blamed for tattoo blunder

An inexperienced Public Trust staff member has been blamed for a New Plymouth man's dying wish to preserve his tattoos not being carried out, the trust's chief executive says.

Jonathan Fowler, 27, who died in December, wrote in his will he wanted his tattoos preserved for posterity. However his family were not told of the request and he was cremated.

Public Trust chief executive Grenville Gaskell said Mr Fowler's wish was not carried out because the senior adviser who handled the estate had little experience in that area.

"This happened over the holiday period and the person...in the area who would normally deal with these matters was on leave and so that's something we need to address with the review we've got under way," he told Radio New Zealand.

The trust had started an internal review into its procedures, he said.

It had also apologised to Mr Fowler's family.

The cystic fibrosis sufferer and double lung transplant patient had a collection of tattoos which included a Playboy bunny, Aries and Taurus signs, and a DB Export beer logo.

Mr Fowler's mother Julie said she was considering legal action against the trust.

- NZPA