A bizarre legal bid to prosecute a dead man has been thrown out by a judge today, who said the case resembled the famous Monty Python comedy sketch involving a dead parrot.
The case of two Korean trawler officers accused of dumping fish at sea was called at Christchurch District Court today.
But while the skipper of Oyang 77, Dae Jun Lee, appeared in the dock, his co-accused was not present.
Lawyer Mike Sullivan said he was representing the estate of Soon Ill Hwang, 42, who died in a car crash in China after charges were laid against him earlier this year.
Mr Sullivan told Judge Gary Macaskill that it was an "unusual case'' because the prosecution, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), wanted to bring a case against his deceased client.