KEY POINTS:
Two more charges of dishonestly using documents have been laid against a man accused of faking his own suicide and disappearing for five years.
Suppression orders continue on the man's name, the false name he took while living in Christchurch, the name of family members, and the method he used to obtain the new identity.
At his last appearance, a development in the case was also suppressed.
At a pre-depositions conference in Christchurch District Court today, the 42-year-old represented himself and said a new lawyer from Auckland had been appointed.
Documents relating to the case have not yet been passed on to the newly appointed counsel.
In the meantime, May 1 has been set for a half-day depositions hearing, and the man was remanded in custody to that date by Judge Garry MacAskill.
The man has been facing charges of dishonestly using a document relating to taking on the new identity, and two charges of fraud.
Two further charges relating to documents using the new identity were before the court today.
The man disappeared in Auckland in 2002 and last year his wife had him legally declared dead with an application to the High Court.
Since then, she has collected life insurance pay-outs totalling $1.2 million, but the police have conceded that she knew nothing about the alleged arranged disappearance.
He was found in Christchurch in January after apparently applying for a passport in his real name, with a view to travelling to Australia.
- NZPA
