|
|
Focus on Police
Competence |
|
Two of the three young women who
lost part of their youth after being wrongly jailed for seven months say
their $340,000 compensation payout will help buy a better future for their
children. Lucy Akatere, Tania Vini and
Kushla Fuataha were just teenagers when they were jailed for a crime they did
not commit – the aggravated robbery of a 16-year-old girl in an Auckland
shopping mall in August 1999. Justice Minister Mark Burton
announced yesterday that the young women had now accepted the original
compensation offer, plus legal costs. Under the deal, Ms Vini will
receive $176,621, Ms Akatere gets $162,830 and Ms Fuataha $165,330. The
payout amounts to around $775 each per day in jail. Ms Akatere now lives in Australia.
Ms Vini – a fulltime mother – and Ms Fuataha – a hairdressing student – both
now have two young children, aged one and three. Ms Vini, 22 and Ms Fuataha,
21, said they hoped the compensation would help pay the bills and secure
their own and their children's future. "Just keep it in the trust
account in the bank and let the interest grow. Maybe buy a car," Ms
Fuataha said. Ms Vini named her three-year-old
son Bryan Gary, as a tribute to lawyer Gary Gotlieb and Bryan Rowe, the
private investigator who worked on their case. The pair were also grateful to
Ms Vini's father Vini Kaniva, who always believed in their innocence. Being locked up at the age of 14
and 15 felt like being stranded, the young women said. "At first I sat and
cried," Ms Vini said. "I remember writing letters, and crying, and
crying." But they said they could now
finally put the experience behind them and concentrate on their own families.
"We can sit back and laugh
about it now," Ms Fuataha said. Cleared by the Court of Appeal in
2001, the young women were first offered compensation by the Crown in 2003.
But they refused the offer, choosing instead to challenge the compensation
amount. That challenge was finally dismissed by the High Court in January. Mr Gotlieb said the Government
should be embarrassed at the drawn-out saga. The trio had accepted the
compensation offer in March – but it had taken seven months for the money to
come through. Furious at Mr Burton's suggestion
that poor legal advice prolonged the settlement process, Mr Gotlieb said he
was acting in the interests of the three girls. The case was a disgrace and
was studied internationally as being appalling, he said. "The system has let them down
completely. The Government are trying to avoid responsibility. The public
gasp for breath the way they have been treated. "They have lost their youth
and their schooling. They have gone through a hell of a lot." |
