Briefs: Swing dropped, not guilty pleas, crowds on Ruapehu

Council to drop swing

The decision to formally decommission the Mosquito Point swing has been made by Whanganui district councillors. A new swing was installed in 2018 but removed the following month after two serious injuries.

Pair plead not guilty

Two men accused of murdering Ricky Wang years before police believe they found the missing man's body in a shallow grave near the Desert Rd have pleaded not guilty. Police operation Quattro investigated the disappearance and alleged murder of Bao Chang Wang, also known as Ricky.

The pair, aged 28 and 33, who have interim name suppression, appeared in the High Court. They pleaded not guilty before Justice Sally Fitzgerald, who remanded them in custody until another hearing in late July. Last week a 29-year-old man appeared in the High Court on a charge of accessory to murder. He pleaded not guilty, had his name suppression continued, and was remanded in custody until the same hearing late next month. A second man has also been charged with being an accessory to murder.

Crowds on Ruapehu

More than 2000 people went to Mount Ruapehu at Queen's Birthday Weekend to sightsee and ride up the mountain on the Sky Waka. That's more than double the number who visited on the same weekend in 2019. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts hopes to have both the Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas open on July 1.

Nature Talks resume

Nature Talks in Whanganui's Davis Lecture Theatre resume this month, with level 2 Covid-19 protocols. The first is at 7.30pm on June 16, by Te Papa curator Dr Colin Miskelly. His subject is birds of the sub-antarctic Auckland Islands. The talks are free, with koha appreciated.