Otago Cabs accused of exploitation
A "luxury" Otago taxi company, and the man behind it, have been hauled before the court, accused of exploiting foreign workers.
Sole director and shareholder of Otago Cabs Limited Gurpreet Singh, 37, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday facing six charges of exploiting temporary workers between August 2023 and July 2024.
The company faced six identical charges.
Not-guilty pleas were entered to all 12.
Court documents accused the man and company of being "responsible for a serious contravention of the Wages Protection Act" in respect of six employees.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment brought the charges, which carry maximum penalties of seven years' imprisonment and a fine of $100,000.
After being incorporated in February 2022, Otago Cabs caused ructions in the industry the following year when it expanded from Queenstown to Dunedin, leading to allegations.
While the nature of those issues cannot be reported, Singh, at the time, vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
"If we are doing something wrong, why [haven't] we had any complaints from the police or our reviews? Why are customers still using us?"
The alleged exploitation of the workers coincided with the company's expansion to Dunedin and, online, the firm also advertises its services in Alexandra and Wānaka.
On its website, Otago Cabs boasts of its "luxury" services, offering personalised chauffeur options and corporate vehicles which "exude elegance and professionalism".
It describes itself as a "leading player in the taxi industry", taking pride in "delivering safe, efficient and reliable transportation services".
It also promotes its "friendly and supportive team that values teamwork and collaboration" and growth opportunities for its dedicated employees.
Singh was remanded on bail and will appear before the court again in August.
felicity.dear@odt.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Farmer guilty of severe animal abuse gets further ban
A negligent Otago dairy farmer has been banned from owning animals for another five years after failing to get rid of her livestock. Carolyn Sybil Ireland came before the Dunedin District Court in 2022, where a catalogue of severe animal abuse was detailed. Animal welfare inspectors found dead and emaciated livestock across her 180ha Omimi property, and Ireland was fined $15,000 and ordered to pay veterinary fees of more than $11,000. She was banned from owning animals for five years, but the Ministry for Primary Industries gave her two months to muster her remaining cattle and transport them off the farm. The court yesterday heard Ireland tasked a stock agent to sell them but, due to "poor fencing, wild-natured cattle, chronic poor management and various logistical problems", the deadline was not met. In April 2023, the defendant was given a letter re-emphasising the need to clear her property of the remaining stock. But the herd continued to grow. Court documents said there were further failed attempts to muster the cattle and some were reportedly shot by helicopter. Fifteen were finally "destocked" in September that year, but it was not enough. Another letter was sent to Ireland encouraging her to contact stock agents or home-kill operators, and warned her of the consequences of non-compliance. By April 2024 — 18 months after her court appearance — animal welfare inspectors used a drone to locate at least 60 cattle. Ireland had not been trying to keep the stock, she said, "it's just simply that they have been difficult to get in." There was limited success in July when 60 cattle were penned by a local farmer and removed from the site but some evaded mustering. Finally, a couple of months later, Ireland leased her property to another farmer to run his stock on the hill block once all hers was removed. To make it worse, the ministry said, the defendant had failed to comply with identification and tracing regulations as well as tuberculosis testing during the period. Counsel Andrew Belcher told the court Ireland was "very, very remorseful to be here, and ashamed". "Everything's gone now. She realises that's it for any further livestock," he said. Judge David Robinson convicted Ireland of contravening a disqualification order under the Animal Welfare Act and banned her from animal ownership for another five years. Dairy debacle Sept 2021: Inspectors find nine dead cattle and many severely emaciated at Ireland's property, following numerous interventions since 2013. Oct 2022: She is fined $15,000, ordered to pay vet costs of $11,179 and banned from animal ownership for five years. Apr 2023: Ireland's herd continues to grow despite attempts to destock, some shot by helicopter. Sept: Fifteen cattle removed from the farm. Dec: Ireland is warned by the ministry about non-compliance with the ownership ban. Apr 2024: Inspectors use a drone to locate at least 60 cattle on the loose. Jul: A local farmer pens 60 but some evade mustering. Oct: Ireland leases her property to another farmer. Jun 2025: The court imposes another five-year disqualification on animal ownership.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Disgraced teacher's victim suffered 'deep and long-lasting' effects
An ex-Dunedin high-school teacher has been sentenced to home detention after being convicted of his 26th indecency against former pupils. Former Otago Boys' High School maths teacher David Bond, 73, was found guilty of indecent assault following a judge-alone trial at the Dunedin District Court last month. This afternoon, Judge David Robinson sentenced the defendant to three months' home detention and 150 hours' community work. Sentencing was complicated by the fact Bond had previously been jailed for 25 months in 2022 for sex crimes against boys during his tenure at the school. The judge said he had to consider today's punishment through the legal lens of 'totality' - as though the new conviction was being sentenced with the slew of previous offences. The court heard Bond's victim had suffered 'deep and long-lasting" consequences following the ordeal he endured on school camp at Mt Aspiring in 2008. 'He feels cheated out of his education and wonders what he could have been,' Judge Robinson said. 'He's to be commended for his courage to come forward.' The man, who was a teen at the time of the crime, said his mental health had been adversely affected by the groping, as well as his ability to trust others and his general sense of safety. At trial he described being asleep in a bunk room when he heard Bond enter in the middle of the night and remove another pupil who had been sleeping on the floor. He woke about an hour later to the teacher placing a hand on his buttocks and the other down the front of his pyjamas. The victim recalled Bond's distinctive voice telling him he was 'just checking on you, making sure you were ok'. 'I was so uncomfortable, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to react, so I did nothing,' the victim said. The court today heard Bond maintained his innocence, despite his lengthy history of similar sex crimes. The defendant at trial told the court he had been on 38 camps and had never been in the dorms after lights-out. 'If someone was in the bunk room, standing over you, it would be a very creepy thing to happen and I would never have contemplated doing something like that,' he said. But his previous convictions were aired in court and counted heavily against his credibility. There were four incidents between 1975 and 2011 when Bond had committed 'strikingly similar' indecent assaults on pupils. They included several episodes during which the ex-teacher had molested children in their bunks. Bond's denials were 'self-serving', the judge ruled. Allegations during the trial that the teacher had indecently touched students during rock-climbing, exposed himself and instructed kids to defecate on a makeshift barbecue were not the subject of charges and were set aside by Judge Robinson. Bond has previously served two terms of home detention on similar sex charges before 2022's prison sentence. Today's sentencing marked his 26th such conviction, the judge noted. Bond was granted parole in January 2024 and the board heard he had told a psychologist he was 'unsure regarding the exact number and names of all his victims'. A Probation report assessed Bond as a low risk of future offending.
Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Further ban after farm not destocked
A negligent Otago dairy farmer has been banned from owning animals for another five years after failing to get rid of her livestock. Carolyn Sybil Ireland came before the Dunedin District Court in 2022, where a catalogue of severe animal abuse was detailed. Animal welfare inspectors found dead and emaciated livestock across her 180ha Omimi property, and Ireland was fined $15,000 and ordered to pay veterinary fees of more than $11,000. She was banned from owning animals for five years, but the Ministry for Primary Industries gave her two months to muster her remaining cattle and transport them off the farm. The court yesterday heard Ireland tasked a stock agent to sell them but, due to "poor fencing, wild-natured cattle, chronic poor management and various logistical problems", the deadline was not met. In April 2023, the defendant was given a letter re-emphasising the need to clear her property of the remaining stock. But the herd continued to grow. Court documents said there were further failed attempts to muster the cattle and some were reportedly shot by helicopter. Fifteen were finally "destocked" in September that year, but it was not enough. Another letter was sent to Ireland encouraging her to contact stock agents or home-kill operators, and warned her of the consequences of non-compliance. By April 2024 — 18 months after her court appearance — animal welfare inspectors used a drone to locate at least 60 cattle. Ireland had not been trying to keep the stock, she said, "it's just simply that they have been difficult to get in." There was limited success in July when 60 cattle were penned by a local farmer and removed from the site but some evaded mustering. Finally, a couple of months later, Ireland leased her property to another farmer to run his stock on the hill block once all hers was removed. To make it worse, the ministry said, the defendant had failed to comply with identification and tracing regulations as well as tuberculosis testing during the period. Counsel Andrew Belcher told the court Ireland was "very, very remorseful to be here, and ashamed". "Everything's gone now. She realises that's it for any further livestock," he said. Judge David Robinson convicted Ireland of contravening a disqualification order under the Animal Welfare Act and banned her from animal ownership for another five years. Dairy debacle Sept 2021: Inspectors find nine dead cattle and many severely emaciated at Ireland's property, following numerous interventions since 2013. Oct 2022: She is fined $15,000, ordered to pay vet costs of $11,179 and banned from animal ownership for five years. Apr 2023: Ireland's herd continues to grow despite attempts to destock, some shot by helicopter. Sept: Fifteen cattle removed from the farm. Dec: Ireland is warned by the ministry about non-compliance with the ownership ban. Apr 2024: Inspectors use a drone to locate at least 60 cattle on the loose. Jul: A local farmer pens 60 but some evade mustering. Oct: Ireland leases her property to another farmer. Jun 2025: The court imposes another five-year disqualification on animal ownership.
