Ex-MP jailed for contempt

A bankrupt and disgraced former National MP was sentenced to one month in jail yesterday after defying court orders and lying in court.

Trevor Rogers and his wife Glenda have been embroiled in a dispute between the receivers of a company they were directors of and owned the majority shareholding in through a family trust.

The dispute relates to the whereabouts of intellectual property and other assets that belong to the company, TGR Helicorp - a helicopter manufacturer - that the receivers want back in order to repay creditors.

Justice Peter Woodhouse's judgment, which was delivered in December, states that the couple defied court orders.

"I have come to the conclusion that Mr and Mrs Rogers have continued to defy courts, lie to the court and that they do have possession or control of the IP [intellectual property] and other assets of TGR."

The company had planned to build two types of helicopters, the Snark, which was intended for military use, and the Alpine Wasp, which was intended for high altitude mountain rescue operations.

Trevor Rogers told the court during the hearing last year that the Snark had the potential to "make millions and millions of dollars".

In the judgment it is revealed that the Rogers intended to move to Switzerland and continue the business there. It also states that Trevor Rogers considered the company's intellectual property his.

Justice Woodhouse said every drawing of the Snark and Alpine Wasp parts that were ready for manufacture were carefully kept in hard copy as well as electronic form.

It is these drawings and associated technical data which constitutes some of the missing intellectual property.

At the beginning of 2007 the company went into receivership. Through the proceedings it emerged that the couple had hidden a large amount of helicopter equipment in containers around Auckland.