Man who refused to wear mask told 'toe the line'

Delaine Wihongi refused to put on a mask. Photo / NZME

A man who refused to put on a face mask in a police station and declared himself not subject to New Zealand law has been told by a judge: "We all have to toe the line."

Delaine Rupert Wihongi, 47, appeared in the Napier District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a raft of charges including failing to comply with the Covid-19 face-covering rules, three counts of wilful trespass and not providing his identification details to police.

Defence counsel Alexandra McPherson said Wihongi was "a man who was really voicing his opinion" and told Judge Bridget Mackintosh that he had spent three weeks in custody.

Judge Mackintosh told Wihongi that everyone had to toe the line, whether they agreed with the rules or not.

She convicted and discharged him on all counts with a maximum penalty of a fine and sentenced him to six weeks in prison on the trespass charges.

Because Wihongi has spent three weeks in custody following a breach of bail, he will be released shortly on time served.

The charges followed a series of encounters Wihongi had with police in November and December last year after he was stopped driving a vehicle in Napier with no registration plates and a broken windscreen.

On the first encounter, on November 25, he refused to provide any identification and told police he was not subject to the law.

On December 7, he was stopped again and refused to supply his name and details. He was taken to Hastings Police Station where he refused to allow fingerprints and photographs to be taken.

According to a police summary of facts, he said he did not have to comply with police requests because he lived by sovereign law – an apparent reference to the "sovereign citizen" movement where people declare themselves to be above the law of the land.

On December 11, he was asked to leave Napier's City Medical Centre because of his behaviour. Police took him home, but he returned 35 minutes later while officers were still talking to staff.

Wihongi was warned that he would be charged with trespass if he did not leave but he told them he did not follow New Zealand laws.

The following day, Wihongi was asked to leave the Napier Police Station when he refused to put on a mask. He went out but came back in again, was arrested and again refused to supply fingerprints or be photographed.

Court documents say that he told police: "I don't stand under anyone … You will not stop me from going anywhere. I do not consent to your trespass notice. I do not consent to wearing a mask."

He was charged twice for wilful trespass and on one count under the Covid-19 public health rules for not wearing a mask.

A week later, his vehicle was again stopped in Napier and Wihongi got out and launched into a tirade against the police officers.

The court documents state that he told them: "You don't own the roads. We are not subject to your laws. You are just a corporation and can't impose rules on free people. London Bridge is falling. The only laws that apply are maritime laws. You are under the control of Bill Gates."

When Wihongi stood in the dock on Wednesday, he was the only person in the court not wearing a mask.