Man appears in Rotorua District Court after being charged for not wearing a mask

Paul Khan and some of his supporters, who didn't want to be named, outside the Rotorua Courthouse yesterday. Photo / Kelly Makiha

A man who was charged after allegedly refusing to wear a mask in Rotorua Central Mall has appeared in the Rotorua District Court.

Paul Khan, 52, was the first person to be charged for failing to comply with alert level 2 restrictions when most of New Zealand shifted out of lockdown levels 3 and 4 earlier this month.

Khan appeared before a registrar in the Rotorua District Court yesterday charged with failing to comply with a Covid-19 order and obstructing or hindering a police officer. The charges relate to alleged offences in the Rotorua Central Mall on September 8.

Khan told the registrar he wanted to represent himself. When asked if he would enter a plea, he said his plea was "innocent". He wanted it noted he was not pleading not guilty but instead insisted his plea be recorded as "innocent".

Khan also asked if he could change his bail conditions under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act that, he said, stated he should be given freedom of movement.

The registrar remanded him on continued bail to reappear before a district court judge on October 4 to ask for a bail variation.

Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / File

Khan asked his court case be held later in November as he needed time to research his case and he was living in a restricted facility which made it difficult for him to get out and do his research.

The registrar tentatively adjourned his case review hearing until October 27 but said those matters could be discussed at his bail variation hearing on October 4.

Khan was supported at court by people who said they were his whānau who displayed a protest sign that said: "God-given right to breathe unrestricted".

Khan wore a mask, a requirement of the courts, while inside the courthouse yesterday.