League fans restrained
Police are pleased with the behaviour of Tongan supporters in south Auckland following Saturday night’s nail-biter Rugby League World Cup game. Thousands of Tongan supporters again took to the streets of Otahuhu after Tonga’s loss to England, 20-18 at Mt Smart Stadium. Despite making 21 arrests for disorder-related offences, police said they were generally happy with people’s behaviour.
Missing in river and lake
A search is under way after a swimmer got caught in a river current on the West Coast. A man, in his 50s, went missing on Saturday night while swimming at the junction of the Buller and Ohikanui rivers, near Westport. Police were notified about 6.15pm and the search continued until about 11pm and then restarted yesterday. Meanwhile, a search for missing Canterbury man George Agnew entered its second day yesterday. The Methven man’s 25-foot yacht was found abandoned on Lake Benmore on Saturday morning. The 66-year-old last made contact with his family at lunchtime on Tuesday. Agnew had been camping in the Haldon Arm Reserve, beside the South Canterbury lake, near Twizel.
Compo bid unfinished
Dunedin man Rex Haig, who spent a decade behind bars for a murder conviction that was later quashed, has died. His daughter, Angela Haig, said he died ‘‘peacefully in his bed at home’’ on Friday. Haig spent 10 years in jail after a murder conviction in 1995 following the death of Mark Roderique, who was last seen on Haig’s fishing boat at Jackson Bay, South Westland. However, the conviction was quashed in 2006 by the Court of Appeal. Haig’s initial bid for compensation was rejected by former justice minister Simon Power, after a report by Robert Fisher QC cast doubt on Haig’s innocence. Fisher concluded it was probably Haig and David Hogan who had jointly beaten Roderique to death. But Haig was considering another bid for compensation this year.
Hit by train
Police are treating the death of man who was hit by a train in a rail tunnel in Hamilton as misadventure. Police were called to the scene in the central city about 4.30am on Saturday. Details of the man’s identity were still under wraps but Senior Sergeant Charles Burgess confirmed he was 33 years old. Suicide had been ruled out, Burgess said. ‘‘It seems it was a tragic case of two men who decided to go for a wander. They had been in the tunnel and were trying to climb a bank when one of them was hit.’’
Motorcyclist dies
A man has died following a motorbike crash in Auckland, early on Sunday morning. Police said the crash happened in Glen Innes about 1.30am. The rider, who was the only person involved in the crash, died at the scene.