Four Australian tourists in court for using dishonestly obtained ski passes at Cardrona

Four Australians were discharged without conviction after dishonestly using lift passes at Cardrona.

Four Australian holidaymakers have been caught skiing for free at Cardrona Alpine Resort with lift passes given by a friend working at the skifield near Wānaka.

Melinda Amy Aldons, Melissa Barcelona Brimelow and Simon Leigh Crisp used the passes on four consecutive days until Sunday, while Tchad Galen Oakley used one of the passes on Sunday.

The defendants, all aged in their 30s, appeared in the Queenstown District Court on Monday charged with using a ski pass dishonestly.

The police summary of facts said the four were friends of a Cardrona employee, Michelle Nguyen, 34, who told them there were pre-paid multi-day passes that had not been collected and they could use them to ski for free.

They picked up the passes from Nguyen at the ski area’s ticketing office in Wānaka on August 30, using them to avoid the $160-a-day cost of buying them.

Nguyen appeared on charges of unlawfully accessing a computer system and using a ski pass dishonestly and was remanded until October 16.

Lawyer Jacinta Grant said the defendants were embarrassed by what they had done.

She asked that they be discharged without conviction after paying the ski field what they owed, and each making a $180 payment to the Salvation Army.

Prosecuting Sergeant Ian Collin said Wanaka police had supported diversion for the defendants after consulting with Cardrona Alpine Resort.

However, there was not enough time to complete that process before the defendants return to Australia next week.

Diversion is a police scheme in which offenders are dealt with “out of court”, provided they complete agreed conditions.

Judge Russell Walker granted the discharges, telling the defendants he hoped they had learned from the experience.

‘’I don’t expect to see any of you standing where you are now ever again.’’

- ODT, Open Justice - Te Patiti reporting, funded by NZ on Air