Riki Lum is on electronically monitored bail while he awaits trial for the manslaughter of Paige Johnson (inset). Photo / Kelly Makiha
Riki Lum is on electronically monitored bail while he awaits trial for the manslaughter of Paige Johnson (inset). Photo / Kelly Makiha
A man charged with the manslaughter of Rotorua deaf and blind man Paige Johnson has been granted electronically monitored bail, while another man connected to the case has had his charge reduced.
Riki Ronald Edward Lum, 31, was granted bail after a hearing in the High Court at Hamilton.
Itis alleged he was the motorcyclist who struck Johnson on June 15 on Edmund Rd in Rotorua. Johnson died three days later.
Police released footage of a motorcyclist they say hit Paige Johnson on Edmund Rd.
The incident sparked a police manhunt for the motorcyclist that involved pleas to the public using CCTV footage supplied by the public.
Lum was granted electronically monitored bail. His address cannot be disclosed.
His bail terms include that he is not allowed to associate with Gary John Scott, a co-accused.
He will reappear in the High Court at Rotorua on November 7.
Gary Scott appears in the High Court at Rotorua via audiovisual link at an earlier hearing. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Scott’s case was called in the High Court at Rotorua this morning before Justice Kiri Tahana.
Crown prosecutor Anna McConachy said the Crown amended the original charge of accessory after the fact of manslaughter to one of willfully perverting the course of justice.
Scott, 55, from Rotorua, who is in custody, is accused of disposing of the motorbike Lum was riding to enable him to avoid arrest.
Scott, whose presence was excused by the court at today’s hearing, had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges – including unrelated charges of possession of a shotgun, cultivating cannabis and receiving various Makita tools valued at $5000. He was yet to plead to the amended charge.
His lawyer, Matthew Jenkins, said he wasn’t aware the court had excused his client from today’s hearing and said it meant he could not discuss the amended charge with him.
Justice Tahana agreed to remand Scott for another case review hearing on September 26, when he was to plead.
The maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment, and the maximum penalty for willfully perverting the course of justice is seven years’ jail.
Flowers at the pedestrian crossing on Edmund Rd in Rotorua where Paige Johnson, 24, died after being hit by a motorcyclist on June 11. Photo / Ben Fraser
Johnson, 24, was allegedly struck by a motorcycle as he tried to cross the pedestrian crossing. It is alleged the motorcyclist turned and rode back the way he came, passing Johnson on the road.
Johnson died three days later in Waikato Hospital from his critical injuries.
A trial for both men has been set for March 13, 2028, if it does not get called on the reserve date of May 3, 2027.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
