|
|
Focus on
Police Competence |
|
Three teenage girls
wrongly jailed for a crime they did not commit have still not been
compensated 18 months after their plight was highlighted. Their lawyer, Gary
Gotlieb, said yesterday that he was considering suing the Government and the
police because of the time it was taking for compensation to be paid. The girls are seeking
compensation -- likely to be hundreds of thousands of dollars -- after being
convicted of an aggravated robbery and spending seven months in Auckland's Mt
Eden women's prison in 1999. They were freed when Mr
Gotlieb and a private investigator persuaded police to reopen their case. In
October last year the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions and offered
the girls "sympathy". Lucy Akatere and Tania Vini, both 17, and Krishla
Fuataha, 16, said they were nowhere near the scene of the crime in the
Auckland suburb of Three Kings. Police apologised to
the girls but Mr Gotlieb said they deserved compensation. In August Police
Commissioner Rob Robinson said he regretted the time it had taken to deal
with the matter and Justice Minister Phil Goff appointed Kristy McDonald, QC,
to give independent advice on whether the girls should receive compensation,
and if so, how much. Mr Gotlieb said a
police investigation of the case had been completed months ago and was still
sitting with the Crown Law Office. "We can't form our
claim till we get to see that report. They are worried about the
report." Mr Gotlieb said he had
written to Mr Robinson on October 4 to see when the report would be available
but he had not received a reply. A police spokeswoman
said yesterday that police were waiting for Crown Law's opinion. "Until it is to
hand we can't proceed further with it." A spokesman for Mr Goff
said Ms McDonald was still working on her recommendations. |
