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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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Former ACT MP Kenneth
Wang has welcomed a decision clearing him of wrongdoing after a woman who
worked with him accused him of sexual harassment. His former employee,
Janice Park, took a complaint to the Employment Relations Authority, alleging
sexual harassment by Mr Wang and unfair dismissal from Auckland company Brand
Works, where he is managing director. Mr Wang became New
Zealand's first male Chinese MP last year when he replaced Donna Awatere
Huata after she was expelled from the party following accusations of fraud,
but lost his place after this year's election. Mrs Park sought
reimbursement for lost wages and compensation for injury to feelings,
distress and anxiety resulting from her claims. But the case largely
backfired on Mrs Park, with the authority rejecting her claim of constructive
dismissal after ruling she lied about her qualifications and misrepresented
her employment history in New Zealand. Claims that Mr Wang had
inappropriately taken photographs of Mrs Park's hands and unnecessarily
touched her when taking cups of tea or coffee from him, were dismissed by the
authority, who said any such offence had been unintentional. Mr Wang told The
Dominion Post he was pleased with the decision, but had been confident that
he and his company would be cleared. "I never doubted...it was a
fabricated, made-up story." But the authority found
Brand Works had broken the law by failing to provide Mrs Park with a copy of
her employment agreement before she started working and ruled it pay her
$2500 for the breach. However, because Mrs
Park did not work out her contract after resigning, she was also ordered to
pay $331.75 to Brand Works for a breach of agreement and $1500 to the Crown. In the CV she gave to
Mr Wang and Bo Li, Brand Works' executive director, Mrs Park said she had
been working as "Personal Assistant to Managing Director" for an
employer in New Zealand since 2002. But it was discovered her position was an
unpaid job and her "employer" was her husband, who she was helping
to start up a business from their home. |
