KEY POINTS:
The man who allegedly faked his own death built a whole new life in Christchurch under a new identity, complete with a new business, love life and close circle of friends.
The man, who cannot be identified because of court orders, has apologised to his Christchurch business partner
and friends for the deception that led to his wife in Auckland claiming $1.2 million in life insurance.
But those close to him say they still have no explanation for his actions and are left feeling betrayed.
"We were his family, so he's lost his family from here," a friend told the Weekend Herald.
"We will speak to him [again]. It may only be once, but we will speak to him."
The case has been compared with that of Briton John Darwin, a father-of-two who walked into a London police station two months ago, five years after he vanished.
Although friends of the man in the Christchurch case said the accused came across as being "really cut up" about a past relationship in Auckland, the Weekend Herald understands he had been in a serious relationship for the past several months with an academic of Chinese descent, and had spoken of accompanying her to China to meet her child.
The Weekend Herald could not reach her for comment, but she was "as shocked as anyone else", the accused's business partner said.
The accused didn't appear well-off and "had a little old bomb car and what it could carry was his".
He lived in a small, modest brick unit in eastern Christchurch, which he appeared to be renovating.
The accused's business partner, who befriended him after his arrival in Christchurch when he knew no-one, said the news of his friend's background came as a huge shock.
"I just couldn't believe it. That sort of thing doesn't happen in New Zealand, let alone to us."
He and his family felt betrayed when they had treated the accused like a member of the family.
They recently received the letter from him, apologising and saying "I don't expect you to forgive me".
He came across as a "genuine person, that would do anything for you". The pair started a company together in 2004.
The accused would come round for birthdays, dinners, "after work we would sit down and have a drink and the day would roll into the evening and he would stay for tea".
He told the family his relationship in Auckland had not worked out and he needed a change of lifestyle. But information about his background "had to be dragged out of him".
"He used to talk about [his wife] all the time but as his ex, not wife. He never said he was married," said the business partner's wife.
"He was pretty cut-up about the break-up. Probably the first three years that we knew him he didn't really date, that we knew about, [he said] he was not interested, it's too much hassle or whatever. We just kept saying 'Oh, for God's sake, get over it".
They learned about the accused's mystery past when a friend phoned last week, and police visited the following day to ask questions.
The business partner said the arrest of his colleague had left him with difficult company affairs to sort out, including loans taken by the accused in the company name.
A Christchurch business that had contracted the man in recent weeks had been trying unsuccessfully to reach him following his arrest, and was shocked by the news.
The accused was considered to be a solid worker, who "got on well with everyone", the office manager said.
He told colleagues there he was divorced, but they knew he had had a series of girlfriends in Christchurch. In the letter he wrote while in custody, the accused told his business partner and friends that he "genuinely did not go out to do fraud ... and had no intentions of [his wife] claiming on the money".
His wife was questioned by police, but was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to receiving the insurance.
The accused's girlfriend and another woman had been seen at the accused's home since the man was taken into custody to get clothes for him. A neighbour said "you couldn't imagine a nicer joker" than the accused.
"He never swore. He was a very polite fellow to deal with, very clean and tidy. It staggers me to think this has gone on with a chap like him."
