KEY POINTS:
The jury in the Pakiri kidnapping case were told they might think the complainant, Kim Spencer, was "a bit of a rat bag", but there were "independent facts" to support his claims.
Prosecutor Ross Burns told the Auckland District Court that these included telephone records and sightings by people with no reason to tell lies.
These supported the allegations that Richard George Anthony Kroon (Mr Spencer's former business partner) and Craig Hamish Weller had been in contact to plan the kidnapping, on the day of the kidnapping and eight days later when Weller returned to Auckland to be paid.
Kroon had got rid of his computer, concealed original documents and lied about his contact with Weller, Mr Burns said.
But in his closing address for Kroon, Paul Davison, QC, told the jury it was Spencer who was lying, that money had been the motive for him to lie in a previous unrelated court case and he had invented the story of being kidnapped to avoid sharing $3 million from a property deal he had done behind Kroon's back and against the terms of their joint-venture business relationship.
Mr Davison said Kroon was adamant he did not make or receive calls from Weller and had no arrangement with him and cautioned the jury about working backwards using phone records to lend support to Spencer's testimony. If they found Mr Spencer's evidence unreliable they should put it aside. That left some phone calls and Mr Davison said that fell well short of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
His client could have relied on the original joint venture document to gain a share of the side-deal Mr Spencer had done and he had begun legal steps to resolve issues he had with the complainant.
For Spencer's story to be true, Kroon would have had to put aside his record of using proper lawful channels to take matters into his own hands, Mr Davison said, and would be contrary to character testimony from former All Black captain Sean Fitzpartick and retired judge Michael Lance. Mr Lance said Kroon had displayed excellent business conduct in the dealings he'd had with him as a member of the body corporate committee of one of Kroon's developments.
Kroon gave evidence that he had met Mr Spencer as arranged at Pakiri on November 16 and had a normal meeting discussing what needed to be done on their project.
Mr Burns suggested Kroon had created the documents he forced Spencer to sign during the kidnapping on his computer and that was why neither the computer nor originals of the documents had been found during police searches of Kroon's home and offices.
The computer was key, Mr Burns said, because it would show when the documents were created either on or about October 28, 2004, when Kroon maintains they were signed as part of normal business, or just before November 16 that year, the date on which it is alleged Spencer was kidnapped, beaten and forced to sign.
Kroon's lawyer said the inability of police to locate the computer should not be held against his client, whose version of events was borne out by an email he sent to Mr Spencer on November 4 which mentioned their agreement of October 28.
The Crown has produced telephone, sales and photographic evidence to support its contention that Weller travelled from Wellington to take part in the kidnapping.
Weller's lawyers filed a notice of alibi but did not adduce evidence in support of it. They are to give a closing address on his behalf this morning after which Judge David Wilson, QC, will sum up and send the jury to begin its deliberation.
