|
|
Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
|
|
|
|
The family of an army
cadet shot in Waiouru in 1981 has been given an advance copy of a report into
allegations of bullying at the Regular Force Cadet School. The report was released
by Defence Minister Phil Goff today but the family of Grant Bain, who had
seen the report, said it was too early to draw conclusions. Grant Bain, 17, of Te
Awamutu, was killed by cadet corporal Andrew William Read, also 17, in the
cadet barracks in Waiouru on February 13, 1981. His family were told he had
died in hospital after an accident but later found their son had been bullied
by Read and had died on the barrack room floor. Brother Murray Bain,
also a former cadet, said today he had received a copy of the report's
findings yesterday. "It's too early to
draw conclusions from the report at this stage as all the names have been
removed and I'm having to work my way through it. "It's a case of
having to fit the names we know into the blanks. "The conclusions
themselves are several pages long." Read appeared in court
on careless use of a firearm charges on the day of Grant Bain's funeral. He
was sentenced to 200 hours' community service and fined $200. Last year, the then
defence minister, Mark Burton, launched Judge David Morris' inquiry into
Grant Bain's death and allegations of bullying at the Waiouru cadet school. Concerns were raised
after former cadet Ian Fraser posted on the internet in October 2003 his
experience of bullying as a cadet at the school in 1971. His revelations
launched a wave of others from fellow former teenage cadets with more than
300 alleging they had been bullied or brutalised. |
