Two siblings who burgled a British tourist's Picton motel room while she slept have marred the reputation of an area that depends on tourism, a district court judge has said.
Jonathon Tipu, 20, unemployed, and his sister Ruth Tipu, 19, a mother, were charged with burglary after breaking into the room on the second floor of the Beachcomber Inn on February 21.
At the Blenheim District Court, Jonathan Tipu, who was also charged with breach of community work, was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay $1154.50 in reparation, one third of the estimated value of the goods he was involved in stealing.
Ruth Tipu, who was also charged with breaching bail, was sentenced to 200 hours' community work and ordered to pay the same amount of reparation.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said the Tipus and another woman broke into a room at the Beachcomber Inn about midnight on February 21 and "helped themselves" to alcohol from the minibar, food and personal items belonging to the 51-year old tourist.
The items included $2500 cash, a cellphone, digital camera and a pair of sunglasses.
The victim was woken by a noise coming from the main room of the unit and emerged to see Jonathan Tipu leaving with a bottle of beer in his hand.
Judge Tony Zohrab said the tourist was "stunned by what she saw, unsurprisingly".
Defence counsel Laurie Murdoch said the two female members of the trio were the main instigators of the crime and Tipu's role was secondary.
Judge Zohrab said he was sure the victim "would leave with a great impression of New Zealanders".
The third member of the trio, Venise Deanne Clark, 25, of Blenheim, will be sentenced in June for the theft of a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk from the motel room.
Sexual violationA Blenheim man appeared in court this week on charges of assault and sexual violation.
The man, who has name suppression, faced three indictable charges of sexual violation and one of male assaults female.
Police opposed bail.
The man was released on bail to reappear in court on April 26.
Cannabis chargesA Picton man accused of cultivating cannabis has elected a trial by jury.
Rex Alexander Gibb, 51, of Waikawa, who also faces charges of possession of cannabis and possession of utensils, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Plunket burglaryA teenager accused of burgling Blenheim's Plunket headquarters has been remanded in custody after breaching his bail conditions.
Karl Keiha Pohatu, 18, unemployed, faces two counts of entering Plunket and Pam's Clothing Store in central Blenheim on March 5 with intent to commit a crime, possession of a pocket knife with the intent of using it to commit a crime and disorderly behaviour.
He has made no plea to the charges.
The court heard yesterday that Pohatu breached the curfew that was a condition of his bail.
Judge Zohrab remanded Pohatu in custody to reappear on May 3.
Can't stop offendingA Blenheim man who attempted to break into his 84-year-old neighbour's house seems to enjoy doing community work, Judge Zohrab said.
Dean Owen Pakai, 42, was great at completing community work sentences but it did not stop him from offending, Judge Zohrab said.
He said Pakai's elderly neighbour found it "awfully upsetting" to find Pakai standing on a rubbish bin to climb through a window into her house on April 14.
She locked the door and called police.
Despite his comments, Judge Zohrab nevertheless sentenced Pakai to 90 hours' community work and six months' supervision.
Stole from `friend'A Blenheim woman "committed a gross breach of trust" after depositing money from a friend's bank account into her own, the court heard on Monday.
Angela Marie McKnight, a 30-year-old waitress, was charged with deception causing a loss of $2220. The victim, a fishing boat worker, had trusted McKnight to pay her bills while she was at sea, Mr Single said.
He said McKnight phoned Westpac bank six times between October 5 and October 27 to deposit money into her own bank account.
Defence lawyer Tane Brunt said McKnight "regretted what she had done".
Judge Zohrab said McKnight has "effectively stolen from someone who trusted you to take care of their finances". He said McKnight, who has a four-year-old son, owed $8000 in fines so was not prepared to fine her further.
He sentenced McKnight to 100 hours' community work and ordered her to pay reparation of $2220 within two years.
Punched in faceA Blenheim woman was charged with assaulting a woman after a heated dispute.
Mr Single said Maria Kimura, 37, punched the woman in the face on March 21 making her fall and knock her head on a fence.
Mr Single said the victim had swelling on the back of her head.
Judge Zohrab said the incident "was not the assault of the century", but said Kimura's history of assault had a "distinct smell of alcohol".
Kimura was sentenced to 250 hours' community work.
The Marlborough Express
