Trio's appeal denied after neglect so bad it was 'comparable to physical assault'

Cindy Taylor was sentenced to 12 years in jail for manslaughter, after the neglect that caused her mother's death.

Three people found guilty of "the most dreadful neglect" which caused the death of 76-year-old Ena Lai Dung, have had their appeals against their sentence dismissed.

The elderly woman died in a pool of her own urine and faeces, weighing just 29kg due to starvation, and in extreme pain from injuries that left her immobile.

Her daughter, Cindy Melissa Taylor, 44, and co-accused Luana Roberta Taylor, 57, and her husband, Brian Frank Taylor, 63, took their case to the Court of Appeal last month, arguing their jail sentences were excessive.

Cindy Taylor was sentenced to 12 years in jail for manslaughter, after the neglect that caused her mother's death.

Luana Taylor was sentenced to six years and three months jail and her husband sentenced to six years, after being found guilty of failing to protect a vulnerable adult.

They are not related to Cindy Taylor or Ms Dung, but were living in the same house when she died.

In a just-released Court of Appeal decision, their appeals have been dismissed.

The judges noted the neglect was an extreme case, and found the sentences the trio received were justified.

In the decision, the offending was described as being "as bad a case of sheer neglect causing death as could be imagined".

"Despite Cindy Taylor knowing that her mother was in extreme pain, she sought neither medical assistance nor offered her any form of pain relief.

"Ms Dung did not suffer from dementia; she was simply immobile.

"Despite that, she was left to urinate and defecate in her own bed, which must have caused her significant shame and anxiety."

Luana Taylor was sentenced to six years and three months jail and her husband Brian Taylor was sentenced to six years, after being found guilty of failing to protect a vulnerable adult.

The Court of Appeal judges said that Ms Dung was elderly, immobile, in serious pain, and cut off from any help other than the three people who had been convicted.

"In this case Ms Dung was an otherwise healthy woman.

"Her death was directly due to the neglect of Cindy Taylor."

The judges found that the "abhorrent" conditions Ms Dung was kept in were so bad, it was comparable to physical assault.

While Cindy Taylor had been the one responsible for her mother, the judges said the sentences for Luana and Brian Taylor were also reasonable because they had "closed their eyes to what was occurring".

"Despite the arrangement made that Cindy Taylor care for her mother, they must have known that Ms Dung needed care and assistance.

"They must have been able to smell the stench coming from her room and Brian Taylor had bought air fresheners and insecticides for Cindy Taylor to use."

The judges said the pair showed indifference and had no excuse for not stepping in, despite there being nothing stopping them from getting medical help.

All three appeals were dismissed.

Ms Dung's body was discovered by emergency services on January 16 2015, at a south Auckland home.

She was found in bed on a tarpaulin, lying in her own excrement, naked from the waist down and surrounded by flies. She weighed just 29kg when she died.

At the 2016 trial a paramedic who found Dung described her as looking like a "scarecrow".

Dung had 14 broken ribs and a broken sternum but no medical assistance was sought. She suffered chemical burns from being left on a plastic sheet in her own urine and faeces, and was given no pain relief.

She had several bed sores, one of which had penetrated through to the bone, and another which was gangrenous.

At the time of her death the 76-year-old had gone four to five days without water, and up to 15 days without food, during the height of summer.

Failing to protect a vulnerable adult is a relatively new charge in the New Zealand legal system, and Dung's case was believed to be the first of its kind to go before our courts.