Moeaia Tuai appears in the High Court at Auckland during his trial, where he has been charged with 16 counts of sexual abuse, two counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of dealing in slaves. Photo / Jason Dorday
A former Auckland prison guard charged with forcing two immigrant siblings into slavery has told jurors both of his accusers – and numerous other witnesses – are lying.
Additionally, Moeaia Tuai insisted today his own diaries – in which he twice appeared to describe beating one of the complainants after she disrespected him – were incorrect.
The 63-year-old also conceded under cross-examination that he got an under-the-table laundromat job for the female complainant and dropped her off at work for nearly two months straight without a single day off.
“Yes,” Tuai responded through an interpreter 57 times in a row as prosecutor Chris Howard meticulously cited the consecutive work drop-offs and pick-ups outlined in the defendant’s own diary from that period.
“It wasn’t my fault,” he said of the illegal work, which was supposed to pay $90 cash per day. “It was [her] wish. She wanted to work...
“This was just for work experience.”
The prosecutor pointed out Tuai was on a benefit and had no other legitimate income that year, but bank records showed he made $6267 in cash deposits into his own account. The defendant suggested it was from money he withdrew from his KiwiSaver account rather than the complainant’s pay, but Howard pointed out KiwiSaver does not generally pay out in cash.
“You were exploiting her, weren’t you?” the prosecutor accused.
“No,” he responded.
Tuai’s trial, before Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith, began last month in the High Court at Auckland. In addition to allegedly dealing in slaves, he is charged with multiple counts of rape, indecent assault and sexual violation of the female complainant.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. After hearing from the two complainants earlier in the trial, jurors today and yesterday got to hear from Tuai in his own words.
Many aspects of the case, including the identities of the complainants, remain suppressed.
Tuai said he kept detailed records of each day the female complainant worked for safety reasons.
“For example, if she goes to work and she doesn’t return back to us, we know exactly where we dropped her off,” he said.
But two diary entries in which he appeared to write that the complainant was beaten after disrespecting him were incorrect, he said. In one of the diary entries, he said, the handwritten word was “back”, not “beat”.
But the prosecutor noted “beat” was the only word that made sense in the context of the entire diary entry, which was titled in part: “disciplinary action”.
Howard directed him to another diary in which it was written that the complainant “was beaten by us” because she had no respect.
“What is written there, they are not true,” Tuai testified.
Howard suggested otherwise.
“The fact you’ve written it down in a notebook indicates to all of us that you feel you’re entitled to do it,” he said.
The complainant earlier told jurors she was hit frequently. On one occasion, she said, the defendant punched her in the neck because he was suspicious she had been communicating with her brother. On another occasion, she said, the defendant dragged her into a kitchen and beat her with a cat statue while his wife cut her hair as punishment for something they took offence to.
“That is a big lie – I’m telling you,” Tuai repeated over and over again as allegations of wrongdoing described by witnesses were put to him by the prosecutor.
“God is looking down. She’s telling lies here.”
Tuai acknowledged he continued to drive the female complainant to and from work when she later got a legitimate job with a courier service.
He also acknowledged having one of her pay cheques deposited directly to his bank account – although he said it was in error because of a messy desk when he was helping her fill out employment forms. And he acknowledged writing emails to her employer in her name.
But he said he had been asked by the complainant to do so because she didn’t know how to use the computer and needed him to translate.
He denied allegations he discussed the complainant’s leave and overtime directly with her managers, or that he didn’t allow her to socialise with co-workers. All co-workers who have stated otherwise are wrong, he said.
Howard pointed out the defendant kept the complainant’s Eftpos card and made frequent cash withdrawals, even when she was at work and couldn’t have authorised it. He withdrew the final $800 from her account hours after finding out she had run away, and used the account earlier that day to buy a Lotto ticket from Pak’nSave.
“I tried to train her how to use it, but she didn’t,” Tuai said of the card. “She just wanted me to use it for her.”
Likewise, he said, both complainants had asked him to hold their passports for safekeeping. That way, he explained, they wouldn’t have to scramble to find the documents if there was a house fire.
Tuai was also asked to respond to allegations of sexual abuse, which were again outlined in graphic detail.
“I’m crying and telling him to stop,” the complainant said of one alleged incident. “He tells me to shut my mouth, and then if I did say a word to anybody, then I’ll see what he’s going to do if I tell.”
Other allegations were that he frequently abused her while in the car when driving her to work.
At one point during the lengthy cross-examination, the prosecutor asked for clarification about what had become a frequent theme to the defendant’s responses.
“Are you saying that all of these people are lying and you’re the only one telling the truth?” Howard asked.
Tuai agreed.
“Counsel, I’m saying to you they’re all saying lies. I’m telling the truth.”
The defendant’s cross-examination is expected to continue tomorrow.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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