Questioning of mentally impaired man continues

A mentally impaired man is continuing to be questioned, a week after the beginning of the trial alleging his kidnapping and prolonged beatings.

Leneith Moeke, 36, and Gene Kauruira, 29, are on trial at the High Court in Rotorua, after pleading not guilty to a raft of charges including mistreating a vulnerable adult.

The jury heard evidence that the man, claimed to have the mental capacity of a child, moved into the couple's Eastern Bay of Plenty home after Moeke found him sleeping in bushes.

The alleged victim, whose name is suppressed, claimed "all was good" for the first year or so but then the mistreatment began; including being chained to a clothesline, roped to a beam in a shed, having a toe sliced almost off with a tomahawk and given only one meal a day.

He also alleged his privileges were stripped from him including visiting the library.

Kaururia's lawyer, Roger Gowing, questioned him on Monday about a time police came to the house because his family reported him missing.

To this the man claimed Kaururia had insisted he cover his head with a hoodie to hide the extent of the scarring on his face.

He denied he normally wore a hoodie and insisted marks on his back that a doctor thought could have been caused by a weapon were inflicted by fingernails, including Kauruira's.

To questions about being chained to a clothesline, the man claimed it had been all day when the couple were at work but agreed he hadn't been gagged.

Counsel: "So why didn't you call out to the neighbours?" Witness: "I wasn't allowed."

Challenged about his claim he'd had to give money he earned to the couple, Mr Gowing said the reality was he'd spent it on drugs.

However the witness denied it, saying he didn't know how many joints he smoked. "It's not something you do every day because you lose your concentration," he said.