ROTORUA - An Austrian man who said his mother was killed by sulphur fumes on a trip to Rotorua is dropping manslaughter charges and damages claims.
Ellen Umlauf-Rueprecht died in a motel room in February and was subsequently found to have potentially lethal levels of hydrogen sulphide in her blood.
Her son,Alexander Rueprecht, had intended to sue the Rotorua District Council, the Government and Tourism New Zealand for manslaughter.
He claimed they were negligent for not warning visitors about the potential dangers of the gas, which gives Rotorua its trademark rotten egg smell.
He was seeking $160 million in damages.
Austrian Consul Gerhard Simanke said yesterday that he believed Mr Rueprecht no longer intended to take legal action.
He had received a fax from Mr Rueprecht apologising for the uproar he had caused.
While the details of the fax were confidential, Mr Simanke said he was "pretty sure" Mr Rueprecht would not carry on with his lawsuit.
"He had a terrible shock to learn of his mother's death, which was when he made the accusations, but I think he's realised he'd gone too far."
Rotorua Mayor Grahame Hall said the incident illustrated the vulnerability of the district's reputation.
While he regretted Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht's death, the action taken by her son could have done immeasurable damage to Rotorua, he said.
Worldwide newspaper headlines about the case had a direct effect on campaigns to promote the city as a friendly and safe place.
"Even worse than that was the way the matter was discussed through the Internet," said Mr Hall.
"Unilateral action by an individual has had a major effect on our reputation.
"He's made all sorts of accusations and that might be the only side of the story people see.
"We're talking about a whole economy here - it shows you how vulnerable we are."
