Lifejacket prosecution

A former Waikato policeman whose two daughters - aged 2 and 6 - nearly drowned after his boat capsized in rough seas on the Coromandel is being prosecuted for not providing them with lifejackets.

Maritime New Zealand declined to name the skipper charged after the incident on the Tairua bar in January last year but court officials confirmed the defendant is former Paeroa police officer John Dustow, it was reported.

A defended hearing is scheduled for October.