Prominent Dunedin man gets home detention

A prominent Dunedin man has been sentenced to 10 months' home detention and ordered to pay $325,000 in reparation to the Otago District Health Board (DHB).

Robin Sew Hoy, 48, who admitted making payments totalling more than $755,000 to DHB employee Michael Swann, was sentenced in the Dunedin High Court today.

Swann has denied accepting inducements from Sew Hoy and is due to stand trial in the High Court at Christchurch in March next year.

Crown Counsel Robin Bates said 85 payments totalling $755,154 were alleged to have been made between January 2000 and September 2006.

"When the details of this arrangement came to light in late 2006 the arrangement was terminated and the same three persons who had been providing the service on behalf of Robin Sew Hoy were then employed by the Hospital Board with an immediate saving to the board of approximately $500,000 per year," Mr Bates said in a written summary.

Justice John Fogarty said it was clear Sew Hoy was not likely to re-offend and it was an "enormous fall from grace".

"I have before me a remarkable set of references," Justice Fogarty said.

The references included a number from business leaders, doctors, lawyers, law enforcement officer and others, including Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, who also disclosed he had close family ties with Sew Hoy.

Justice Fogarty himself showed emotion during the sentencing and stopped to explain, saying Dunedin's Chinese community had its roots in the Otago gold fields as did his own family.

"We have always seen the Chinese community set exemplary standards. It is very rare to see a Chinese person of those origins in the court. It is very upsetting," Justice Fogarty said.

Despite the early guilty plea and a commitment to make things right, Justice Fogarty said the sentence had to be severe to deter others.

The 10 months of home detention allowed for Sew Hoy to work from home but he could leave the premises only if exceptional circumstances arose, particularly in the running of his business - Elmo NZ Ltd.

The amount of reparation had earlier been agreed to in civil proceedings between the DHB and Sew Hoy.

Sew Hoy and Swann were known to be childhood friends who went to school together and who had previous business relationships.

Sew Hoy has also been heavily involved in table tennis in Dunedin and was, until today, a member of the Dunedin Shanghai Sister City Association.

His great, great-great-grandfather Choie Sew Hoy established the family in Otago in 1869 and the family celebrated its 140th anniversary in New Zealand this year.

- NZPA