Man with 10 convictions loses deportation appeal

A Samoan man who accumulated 10 convictions within 10 months of arriving in New Zealand has lost an appeal to overturn his deportation order.

Manumailagi Puloutele, 26, who arrived in 1999 on a resident permit, was found guilty in May 2001 of aggravated robbery, threatening to kill and disorderly behaviour, among other charges.

Sentenced to four years in prison he was released in August 2003. A deportation order was made in September 2003.

At the High Court at Wellington Justice John Wild said Puloutele had "not made a great contribution to New Zealand. It has been an appalling record for a young man."

In his judgment released yesterday Justice Wild said: "Although New Zealand must put up with criminal offending by its citizens, it does not want overseas citizens who have committed serious criminal offences coming to live here, and it seeks to deport those who commit such offences while resident here."

Justice Wild rejected the argument by Puloutele's lawyer Mark Lillico that the Deportation Review Tribunal had failed to ask questions about the true status of Puloutele's relationship with his wife, Judit Berta.

While married to Ms Berta, at the time of the original hearing he had already started a relationship with another woman, Shayna Dean, with whom he had since had one child, with another child due next month.

Mr Lillico said it was the responsibility of the tribunal to uncover the second relationship, which it had not.

In the judgment Justice Wild said Puloutele had "quite deliberately put a false position before the tribunal".

Puloutele did not want the tribunal to know about the status of his marriage because he knew it would not be helpful to his appeal, he said.

Justice Wild also rejected the almost six-month delay between the hearing and a deportation order being granted as a reason to overturn the order.

He dismissed the grounds for appeal and said the deportation order stood and must be given effect.

- NZPA