KEY POINTS:
A resident of the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert has been fined $3500 for poisoning a protected tree on a neighbouring property.
Rajesh Kumar Lallubhai Patel was fined after pleading guilty to a charge of poisoning a generally protected gingko tree at the Horticulture and Food Research Institute in Mt Albert.
The Auckland District Court heard earlier this week Patel was seen drilling holes in the tree and stuffing cotton wool soaked in weedkiller into the holes.
The court heard the tree was likely to survive.
Had the tree been seriously damaged, the fine would have been between $10,000 and $15,000, Judge Fred McElrea said in sentencing.
Patel was also ordered to pay costs of $1392.
- NZPA
