Authorities have asked Facebook to remove a hate page on which criminals abused a colourful New Zealand judge.
The social networking giant took down the site called "We hate Judge Kevin Phillips" after the Ministry of Justice deemed it a risk to his security.
The page was aimed at thehardline district court judge known for his often withering blasts at both lawyers and defendants from the bench.
The Facebook site featured expletive-riddled comments from some people claiming to having appeared before Phillips, a former defence lawyer who sits mainly at Invercargill and Queenstown. It led with the catchline: "We have all had him once, what a c***."
By the time Facebook took down the page last month, 218 people had "liked" it.
Comments included "stood in front of him today, cheers 4 bail you bundle haha" and "ha ha dislike him? Yes, we do".
Another said "surely there's more than 44 people that dislike him". A reply to that from a Mere Fowler said "Yes thea is but half them in jail wea the w***** sent thm!"
However, one fan of Phillips offered a crumb of support, posting "When he was a lawyer he got me out of the s*** a few times".
- additional reporting by Paul Taylor of Mountain Scene
