MP tried to mislead investigators, court told

Taito Phillip Field.

Taito Phillip Field arranged a series of fictitious statements and documents to hide the fact that Thai workers he was helping with immigration matters were working on his property for little or no money, a jury has been told.

Crown prosecutor Simon Moore said the former MP arranged for the false statements and document creations to put a government inquiry and police investigators on the wrong scent.

Mr Moore was making his opening address at the trial of Field in the High Court in Auckland on 35 criminal charges.

Yesterday he outlined most of the 12 charges of bribery and corruption charges as an MP laid against Field, alleging that Thai nationals carried out tens of thousands of dollars worth of work on five of his properties in return for help with their immigration issues.

Today Mr Moore began outlining the 23 charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice, alleging Field took numerous steps to create a false impression of what happened at his properties.

Mr Moore told the jury how the allegations against Field broke in media in September 2005, during the general election campaign.

A few days before the election, Prime Minister Helen Clark ordered an inquiry into Field's conduct, primarily over tiling work carried out at a house of Field's in Samoa, to be undertaken by Auckland barrister Dr Noel Ingram.

Mr Moore said there was also media coverage suggesting police were considering an investigation of their own.

He said Field then took a series of steps which led to false or misleading information being presented to the Ingram inquiry.

They were to arrange false receipts or invoices to be created in relation to the work on the properties, arranging for witnesses to make false statements, and making false statements himself, Mr Moore said.

Once the Ingram inquiry report had been released, Mr Field then arranged to have further false statements made to police and further false documents created once a police investigation had been formally announced, Mr Moore said.

"Mr Field embarked on this course in an attempt to conceal and hide what the true position was, and he did it for the purpose of preventing charges being laid against him."

Mr Moore was making today's remarks to a jury of 11 after a man appointed jury foreman yesterday was discharged by Justice Rodney Hansen today.

"The circumstances that have given rise to the decision I do not propose to divulge," he told the remaining jurors.

"But what I do want to emphasise is that it involves no personal reflection in any way at all on the character of your foreman."

Justice Hansen said he had power to continue the trial with 11 jurors and he had ordered it do so after there was no objection by the Crown or the defence.

Today's development came after seven of the jurors originally empanelled on Monday were discharged the following day. A further seven jurors, including the man discharged today, were empanelled yesterday and heard half of Mr Moore's opening address yesterday.

The trial is expected to last 12 weeks.

- NZPA