Latest news with #JusticePreston
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Waipareira Trust wins legal point against Charities Board but fails to quash deregistration notice
'The intended decision notified the intention to remove Waipareira from the register on grounds which it is not necessary for present purposes to record, save as to note I am told Waipareira strongly disputes the basis for the intended decision,' Preston said. There were three members of the CRB at the time the notice was issued, but the court heard Parliament had amended the Charities Act in July 2023 and increased its membership from three to five. By December 2024 voluntary sector minister Louise Upston announced Roger Miller and Tarita Hutchison had joined the CRB's three existing members, finally making a legal quorum. Jonathan Orpin-Dowell, acting for Waipareira, said there was no reason to look beyond the plain meaning of the Charities Act amendments which required the board to have five members and did not specify the Minister of Internal Affairs was allowed discretion in having fewer. Andrew Butler KC, acting for the CRB, argued the 2023 general election had delayed adding to the board to preserve the rights of an incoming government to make appointments, and in any event the issuing of the notice of intent would be followed by an upcoming hearing by the CRB where Waipareira could further argue its case. Justice Preston agreed decisions made by a three-person CRB after the law changes were illegal: 'I conclude the intended decision is invalid as ultra vires the act.' But Justice Preston declined Waipareira's application to quash the notice. 'I conclude there will be a sufficient opportunity for Waipareira to challenge the intended decision on the merits, before a properly constituted board.' Even if the CRB decided to deregister following its own hearing, Waipareira could then also appeal to the Taxation and Charities Review Authority. Requests for comment on the ruling sent to the CRB and Tamihere were not immediately answered. Charities lawyer Sue Barker said reading the ruling was a real 'wow' moment. The short-staffed CRB had drawn some comment among charity law practitioners when new legislation was passed. 'I wondered at the time, what does this mean? If the law says you've got to have five members, you've got to have five,' she said. Barker said despite winning on this narrow point of law, Waipareira appeared to have gained little from the exercise. 'Ultimately, it's a pyrrhic victory. All it really does is delay and cause a lot of cost to charitable and taxpayer funds.' Matt Nippert is an Auckland-based investigations reporter covering white-collar and transnational crimes and the intersection of politics and business. He has won more than a dozen awards for his journalism – including twice being named Reporter of the Year – and joined the Herald in 2014 after having spent the decade prior reporting from business newspapers and national magazines.
1News
13-06-2025
- 1News
Yanfei Bao: Killer removed from courtroom during sentencing
Yanfei Bao's murderer has been kicked out of the courtroom during his sentencing due to his constant yelling and interruption of proceedings. Tingjun Cao was found guilty of killing the Christchurch real estate agent in December. He represented himself at trial, after sacking his lawyers. His performance in court led to regular breaks due to his outbursts and the judge's need to keep him on track. Soon after appearing for sentencing at the High Court in Christchurch this morning Cao began calling out from the dock, despite repeated requests from the judge for him to wait his turn to speak. ADVERTISEMENT He leapt to his feet, waving and shouting in Mandarin. That meant just nine minutes into the hearing Justice Lisa Preston had to close the court to address counsel and Cao's interpreter. Following those discussions she decided to take an early break, telling the public gallery: 'We're just going to take a, hopefully about 15 minute adjournment. Again, I regret the inconvenience to people who are interested in this process. It is necessary and we will then return to court and continue the hearing.' As proceedings recommenced his defence counsel Colin Eason said, "We've now established this is a sentencing, not an appeal. I know that Mr Cao will make a request of you at some stage later in the proceedings if he could say some words". Justice Preston then told the murderer, "I will not tolerate any further interruption by you during this process at all". Tingjun Cao (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT But as she finally began to progress the hearing, Cao once again stood to his feet and began raising his voice. As the judge insisted, "No Mr Cao, please be seated", Corrections staff and interpreters attempted to calm him down. At that point Justice Preston told the defendant, "I am going to ask you to be removed from the court". As he was taken out, an interpreter explained, "He just kept mentioning they are not his lawyer". Justice Preston said, "I am going to ask the Corrections officers to ensure that Mr Cao is taken to courtroom 11 and kept in custody in courtroom 11 in your care, where he will be able to hear and I believe view the sentencing hearing but he will not be able to interupt my speaking from that court".
RNZ News
13-06-2025
- RNZ News
Yanfei Bao's killer Tingjun Cao removed from court after interrupting sentencing
Tingjun Cao is removed from court on Friday. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON The man who murdered Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao has been removed from his own sentencing hearing after constant outbursts and interjections. Chinese national Tingjun Cao attacked Bao in July 2023 after luring her to a Hornby home she was selling, before killing her and burying her body in farmland. He continues to protest his innocence, blaming a fictional Mr Tang for the murder. Justice Preston closed the court to the public this morning following Cao's outbursts. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON As the sentencing hearing began this morning, Cao would interrupt in Mandarin and gesticulate towards his lawyers. He made protestations about evidence he claimed would demonstrate his innocence, leading to Justice Lisa Preston closing the court to the public to address his outbursts. However, when court resumed, Cao again leapt to his feet and began interrupting in Mandarin. As a result, Justice Preston ordered Cao be removed from the court. As Corrections officers escorted him from the court, he continued speaking loudly and gesticulating. His final protest came as he ripped up his papers, bundled them into a ball and threw them to the ground. His seven-week jury trial last year was also marked by Cao's odd displays. He sacked his defence lawyers during the trial and represented himself with the help of a trio of interpreters. Justice Lisa Preston repeatedly warned Cao about asking irrelevant questions, making meandering and repetitive statements, and accusing witnesses of lying. The prosecution described the case against Cao as an "absolute slam dunk" with compelling and overwhelming evidence demonstrating his guilt. However, Cao claimed he was at the centre of a conspiracy and police officers had lied, fabricated, planted and doctored evidence to frame him. In delivering his closing argument he regularly turned and spoke to the glass panes of an empty dock and at other times rambled through measurements and minutiae which were difficult to link to his claims of innocence or the case. Cao lured the 44-year-old Yanfei Bao to the Hornby home on 19 July 2023 under the pretence of wanting to view the property. There he attacked her, bundled her into the boot of his car and drove her to a remote rural road near Lincoln where he killed her. He buried her in a shallow grave along the treeline of a farm in Greenpark where police found her remains almost a year later. Bao's partner, Paul Gooch, reported her missing the day she vanished after discovering his wife had not collected her daughter from an after-school programme, had not come home for lunch and calls to her phone went unanswered. Police found Bao's phone in grass beside the southern motorway two days later. Cao was arrested on his way to Christchurch Airport in the days after her disappearance with a one-way ticket to Shanghai. He was initially charged with Bao's kidnapping but the charged was later dropped. Cao was charged with murder in September 2023. Following the jury's guilty verdict Gooch yelled at Cao: "You might want to get a refund on that plane ticket you scum bag". The Sentencing Act contained a presumption convicted murderers would be sentenced to life imprisonment unless such a sentence was manifestly unjust. If Justice Preston sentenced to life, Cao would spend no less than a decade behind bars, but the judge could also engage section 104 of Sentencing Act which allowed judges to impose a non-parole period of at least 17 years for particularly egregious murders. Cao is now watching his sentencing hearing from another courtroom. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13-06-2025
- RNZ News
Yanfei Bao's killer Tingjun Cao removed from after interrupting sentencing
Tingjun Cao is removed from court on Friday. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON The man who murdered Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao has been removed from his own sentencing hearing after constant outbursts and interjections. Chinese national Tingjun Cao attacked Bao in July 2023 after luring her to a Hornby home she was selling, before killing her and burying her body in farmland. He continues to protest his innocence, blaming a fictional Tang for the murder. Justice Preston closed the court to the public this morning following Cao's outbursts. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON When court resumed, Cao continued to interrupt proceedings. Justice Preston ordered he be removed from the court. As Corrections officers escorted him from the court, he ripped up his papers and threw them to the ground. Cao will now watch the hearing from another courtroom. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
