Sand boarding down the dunes at Te Paki stream in the Far North can be fun, but it also comes with dangers and tour company Sand Safaris has been sentenced after a tourist on one of its buses died while sand boarding there.
Sand boarding down the dunes at Te Paki stream in the Far North can be fun, but it also comes with dangers and tour company Sand Safaris has been sentenced after a tourist on one of its buses died while sand boarding there.
An ‘horrific’ Te Paki sand boarding incident that killed a Korean tourist is a reminder that the health and safety of customers must be a priority for businesses, WorkSafe says.
The comments come after Far North company Sand Safaris 2014 Ltd was ordered to pay a fine, reparation and costs of more than $405,000 in the Whangārei District Court on Monday, over the death of South Korean tourist Jin Chang Oh.
The tourist was boarding the giant sand dunes at Te Paki when he slid into the path of a moving bus in February 2019. The 68-year-old had been on a tour run by Sand Safaris 2014 Ltd. His death was witnessed by his wife, son Sang Kyun Oh, daughter in law, and granddaughter.
His son, Sang Kyun Oh, travelled from Korea for the trial in December, last year.
On Monday, Judge Philip Rzepecky said despite the company still trying to partly blame Jin Chang Oh for the death, he was satisfied that the tourist played no part in the accident, which was the company’s fault.
Sang Kyun Oh watched Monday’s sentencing via AVL link from Korea and the proceedings were translated to him.
Judge Rzepecky initially imposed a starting point for the fine at $600,000 on Sand Safaris, but said the company’s ability to pay had to be taken into consideration and he reduced the fine to $200,000.
The judge said the company had suffered a big drop in income in recent years, partly down to tourism being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Far North tour company Sand Safaris no longer offers customers sand boarding down the dunes at Te Paki after a tourist died in front of his family while on one of the company’s trips
He imposed reparation for emotional harm on the Oh family at $130,000 and an additional $53,209.32 for consequential losses the Oh family suffered as a result of their loved one’s death. He also ordered Sand Safaris to pay $22,136.63 as 50 per cent of WorkSafe’s prosecution costs - for a total order of $405,345.95. The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million. Sand Safaris had no prior convictions or previous health and safety issues.
The judge passed on the court’s sympathy to the Oh family and said while nothing the court could do would undo the harm caused, he hoped the sentencing would help them.
He said Sand Safaris no longer carries out the sand boarding part of its trips and he questioned the company’s remorse given that it still partly blamed Jin Chang Oh.
Judge Rzepecky said the company had identified the possible risk of a sand boarder being hit by a vehicle after their descent as in 2016 a young person was hit and seriously injured in that way after sand boarding at Te Paki with another company.
However, despite working with other companies on a traffic management plan after that, none had been put in place before the death.
After the sentencing WorkSafe, which brought the prosecution, said the health and safety of customers must be a priority for businesses.
A WorkSafe investigation found the company ineffectively identified and controlled the hazards and risks of sandboarding; it had not ensured riders were kept safe from vehicles and did not have an effective traffic management system in place.
At Sentencing Judge Rzepecky agreed, saying “a clearly identifiable hazard” was overlooked and Mr Oh was “not to blame at all for what happened to him”.
“The facts of this sad case speak for themselves. Allowing high-speed leisure activities to take place in such close proximity to moving vehicles without tightly managing the risks is asking for trouble,” WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Danielle Henry said.
“Sand Safaris should have learned from an incident at the same location three years earlier, where a person sandboarding with another company was run over and seriously injured.
“Operators not only have a responsibility for their workers, but also their customers, and must not lose sight of that. While we want thrill-seekers to enjoy themselves, it’s critical that risks are not overlooked and businesses do what they can to keep people safe.”
