Super City voter scam trial shifted

Daljit Singh in court on October 5. Photo / Richard Robinson

Eight men accused of an alleged Auckland Super City voter scam have had their trial shifted to the High Court.

Daljit Singh, Gurinder Atwal, Davinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Virender Singh, Paramjit Singh, Malkeet Singh, Harmesh Singh all appeared in the High Court at Auckland today on charges of using a forged document.

Police allege that the scam involved people from throughout the North Island falsely enrolled to vote in the 2010 Auckland Super City elections.

Daljit Singh was a Labour Party candidate in the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board but was not voted on. He is a real estate agent, marriage celebrant and a licensed immigration adviser.

Daljit Singh is also a spokesman for the NZ Sikh Society and convener of the Supreme Sikh Council. In his election campaign material he said he had lived in Papatoetoe for 17 years.

Their trial was to take place at Manukau District Court but Justice Timothy Brewer said because of the public interest in the case, the trial had been shifted to the High Court.

It has been set down for up to eight weeks and is due to begin in October - three years after the men were arrested.