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Focus on Police
Competence |
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Three young Auckland women jailed
for a crime they did not commit have accepted compensation from the
Government. Tania Vini, Lucy Akatere and
McCushla Fuataha were convicted in August 1999 for the aggravated robbery of
a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Mt Roskill. They successfully appealed their
convictions on the basis that two principal witnesses had retracted their
testimony and were released after spending around seven months in jail. The compensation ranges from
between $162,000 and $176,000. Justice Minister Mark Burton says he is
pleased the matter has been resolved, and he wishes the young women well for
the future. He says the Government accepted
the girls were innocent and offered the trio compensation in 2003, but he
says that had not been accepted by the women's lawyer. |
