Struck off doctor has convictions upheld after six-year battle

Rhys Michael Cullen leaves a medical tribunal hearing back in April 2007. Photo / Greg Bowker, NZ Herald

A struck-off doctor turned scrap-metal dealer has had convictions for receiving stolen vehicles upheld after a six-year legal battle.

Rhys Michael Cullen was deregistered by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in October 2007 for professional misconduct for over-prescribing 80,000 tablets of Sudomyl, which contains pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in P.

The former Papakura GP said the tablets were part of a research project, but the tribunal found the amount of drugs he was prescribing was inappropriate.

He later became the sole director and owner of Tamaki Metals - a south Auckland scrap-metal dealer.

In June 2009, Cullen was found guilty, by a jury at Manukau District Court, of 15 counts of receiving stolen vehicles.

The cars were purchased for scrap by three employees of the company, who paid cash for them and brought them on to the yard.

"Most vehicles were in good condition and roadworthy, as was evidenced by their current warrants of fitness. They were clearly worth much more than the average scrap price of $200 which was paid for them. A number had broken ignition barrels and side windows and contained personal possessions. Most of the cars did not have registration plates," court documents said.

The defence case was that the defendant's role on the yard was largely administrative.
Lawyers maintained that Cullen was not in a position to know of the presence of the vehicles and take control of them.

The jury disagreed and adopted the prosecution's view that he was the "controlling mind" of the business.

Since then, the matter has been appealed at every level to the Supreme Court, which delivered its judgement today.

"There is no possible miscarriage of justice in the way the matter was, properly, presented to the jury," Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias said.

"The suggestion Mr Cullen was deprived of an additional defence that the company had already received the stolen vehicles through the actions and knowledge of the employees was misconceived."