AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASE

5 July 2007

$3500 fine for tree poisoning

A Mt Albert resident has been fined $3500 for poisoning a protected tree on a neighbouring property.

Rajesh Kumar Lallubhai Patel was convicted in the Auckland District Court on 2 July 2007 after pleading guilty to a charge of poisoning a generally protected Gingko tree at the Horticulture and Food Research Institute in Mt Albert.  He was also ordered to pay costs of $1392.

The court heard that Mr Patel was seen drilling holes in the tree and stuffing cotton wool into them. The Auckland City Council discovered that the cotton wool had been soaked in weed killer. An assessment by Greenscene Ltd found the tree was likely to survive but it was too early to tell if the poison had caused severe damage.

Had the tree been damaged, the fine would have been between $10,000 and $15,000, Judge McElrea said in sentencing.

Ends

© Scoop Media