Tauranga Hospital lockdown: Identity of man accused of gun-related threatening phone call suppressed

Tauranga Hospital was put into a precautionary lockdown on Thursday. Photo / Mead Norton

The identity of a Bay of Plenty man accused of making a gun-related phone call to Tauranga Hospital that led to an hours-long precautionary lockdown has been suppressed.

The man faced a charge of using a telephone for a fictitious purpose when he appeared in Tauranga District Court on Friday.

In court charging documents, police alleged that on Thursday he used a telecommunication device to “knowingly [give] a fictitious message namely that he was going to Tauranga Hospital with guns to get answers”.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of three months in prison.

Police opposed bail.

Defence lawyers Rosie Sinclair and Nephi Pukepuke urged Community Magistrate Sherida Cooper to grant bail, saying their client had the presumption of innocence and bail conditions would address any police concerns.

The lawyers submitted interim name suppression should be granted as publication could cause extreme or undue hardship to the defendant’s unwell father and other family members.

Pukepuke said more disclosure from the police about the specifics of the allegation was needed before a plea could be entered and publication of the defendant’s name may jeopardise his fair trial rights.

Cooper declined bail, saying she found just cause for the defendant’s continued detention.

She granted him interim name suppression.

The defendant was remanded in custody to appear in Tauranga District Court on April 9 to enter a plea to the charge.

The suppression order would be revisited that day.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.

The court