JAILED FOR PERJURY

A woman who perjured herself, pretending she had just given birth to get bail, has been jailed for two years and nine months. Manukau District Court Judge Richard Earwaker sentenced Crystal Elizabeth Kauwhata (aka Kiel) to two years and nine months imprisonment on 17 charges, including perjury. Sentencing notes, released on Monday, showed Kauwhata had lied about having a baby twice while under oath to in an attempt to avoid going to prison. The February hearing also took into account six theft charges, six charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage, three breach of bail charges and one charge of breach of community work. She was on bail at the time, having been sentenced to six months home detention in November 2014.