Smoking fine saga dragging on in courts
The already convoluted saga of a Kaikohe bar owner who made history by being the first Northlander fined for allowing smoking inside a pub is set to drag on well into next year.
In December last year, Kaikohe Hotel owner Neal Summers, of RightsideProperties, was fined $5800, not counting court costs, for breaching the then four-year-old Smokefree Environments Act.
But Mr Summers said when he turned up at court on August 29 there was no judge present and no one from the Ministry of Health, so after an hour of waiting he left just before 10am.
His case then started without him at 10.10am.
Mr Summers said he was not informed of the outcome or the sentencing date and learnt of December’s record fine through the media.
He refused to pay the fine and the case ended up in the High Court at Whangarei, then was sent back to the Kaikohe District Court yesterday for a rehearing.
Mr Summers, who arrived at court on a Segway to represent himself, faced six charges of failing to prevent smoking in a non-open area.
Judge John McDonald said there was no time yesterday to hear the arguments around Mr Summer’s case, so a date for the re-hearing would be set on January 19.
“Everybody’s going to have to turn up for that at 9am,” he said.
Mr Summer maintains his customers were not smoking but had rolled their cigarettes and put them unlit in their mouths before heading outside, as was the custom at the hotel.
However, the Health Ministry said the prosecution was launched after public complaints and repeated warnings from health board officials.
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