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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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Hiran Fernando's conviction
yesterday was a fall from grace for a doctor who had a high profile in the
community for a number of years. His high profile became apparent
last month when the jury was selected for his High Court trial. In what was one of the New
Plymouth court's largest call for jurors, 2000 people were initially balloted
for jury service. A New Plymouth GP for 26 years,
Sri Lankan-born Fernando was responsible for setting up the Taranaki
Multi-Ethnic Council in 1994. He was the council's inaugural president and
remained in the position for several years. And it was Fernando who organised
the council's first Multi-Ethnic Extravaganza, which has gone on to become a
hugely popular annual event. In 2003 he was awarded a New
Plymouth citizen's award for promoting multi-culturalism. Fernando has been involved in the
Fitzroy Rotary Club since 1982 and, at one point, he was the Taranaki
co-ordinator for the Rotary Foundation. A practising Catholic, the doctor
has been a member of St Joseph's parish for more than a decade. His family, particularly his wife
Pretheeva Fernando, are well-known in New Plymouth's music community. Fernando is a director of the New
Plymouth after hours medical clinic Phoenix Urgent Doctors on Vivian St. His
own surgery is on Mangorei Rd. Fernando moved to New Plymouth in 1980
after working in Wanganui and Auckland's National Women's Hospital. He did his medical training at a
university in Sri Lanka. |
