Man allegedly set dogs on Housing NZ employee

Alfred Henry Victor Santos, 57, appeared in Auckland District Court this week charged with wounding with reckless disregard and being the owner of a pit bull that attacked someone.

A man has been charged after allegedly setting his dogs on a Housing New Zealand employee who was in a property testing for methamphetamine contamination.

Alfred Henry Victor Santos, 57, appeared in Auckland District Court this week charged with wounding with reckless disregard and being the owner of a pit bull that attacked someone.

He did not enter a plea and could face as long as seven years in jail if the first charge is proven.

The scaffolder from Mt Albert allegedly unchained his two dogs and shut them in the kitchen of a state house with the HNZ staffer on October 9.

The tester arrived at the property with a security guard after getting consent from a female tenant.

However, a relative visited during the testing and allegedly contacted the woman's partner Santos, who returned and avoided the guard by climbing over the property's back fence.

The guard only pushed his way into the kitchen after hearing the tester screaming and found him trying to climb out a window.

HNZ chief executive Glen Sowry said the man received "pretty severe wounds" to his legs, hands and forearms and was in hospital for several days.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett was also told of the situation after HNZ made a formal police complaint.

Mr Sowry said the dogs had been put down by Animal Control and the tenants had been evicted under a fast-track policy.

Quenton Dowdell - managing director of Dowdell & Associates, one of several companies contracted by HNZ for meth testing - confirmed the incident involved one of his testers.

The man had since returned to work and did not return calls today.

Initial testing of the Mt Albert house had come back positive so the tester had returned to do more intensive testing, HNZ confirmed.

Its testing for meth contamination increased more than tenfold since 2013 when only 19 properties were tested, compared with 196 last year.

HNZ either decontaminated or demolished the houses affected, depending on the severity of the contamination, a clean-up that has so far cost $3.6 million since 2013.
Santos will be back in court next month.