A crown prosecutor told a court yesterday that an Auckland debt collector who bought taxpayer details from an Inland Revenue worker must have known she was getting them from the department's computer.
Greenlane company director Terrence Cyril Charleston, aged 41, has pleaded not guilty to 85 counts of using corruptly disclosed official information.
The Crown says that Charleston knew IRD worker Sopo Matagi was supplying him with names from the department's database, but the defence says he merely employed her as a part-time tracing agent and had no idea she was obtaining details illegally.
Prosecutor Steve Bonnar told the Auckland District Court yesterday that Charleston knew Matagi worked fulltime at the IRD and was a busy mother at home, yet was still able quickly to investigate 600 people for him.
"The only reasonable inference to be drawn is that the defendant knew Ms Matagi was obtaining information from the Inland Revenue Department database," said Mr Bonnar while summing up. "It beggars belief that this accused could not have been so aware of what was happening."
But defence lawyer Barbara Hunt said there was no direct evidence that her client knew Matagi was doing anything wrong - or that he ever received the details, which were always sent to one of his office workers.
Ms Hunt said laws relating to the charges had been lazily drafted, creating an anomaly. It was up to Parliament to fix the problem, which should not affect people like Charleston, who were pressured by corrupt officials needing to make money.
Judge Graham Hubble said he needed time to grapple with the factual and legal problems and would give a verdict next week. "Mr Charleston will have to sweat this one out. It's an interesting matter from the legal perspective."
Charleston was remanded on bail.
Summing-up in IRD leaks case
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