Tenant’s death went unnoticed
Whānau of a man who lay dead in his Kāinga Ora unit for a week were unable to bury him in the Cook Islands because of how long it took to find his body.
Tairo Puangi, 42, died between April 24 and May 2, 2019, at his unit in Auckland’s Onehunga.
Due to the length of time before he was found, his cause of death couldn’t be ascertained, Coroner Tania Tetitaha ruled.
Puangi lived alone in the apartment building, which has now been torn down, and dealt with long-term mental health issues, including schizoaffective disorder and addiction.
His sister, Terani Puangi, said her brother was “a big unit”, and his mental health issues could make him intimidating or aggressive to those he didn’t know.
She said he was “never the same” after their dad died when they were teenagers. She said the more recent deaths of their brother and mum made things worse.
Puangi had been arrested in 2018 for assaulting his tenancy manager, and witnesses described him as “lonely” and missing his mum, who had lived nearby.
In the days before his death, Puangi visited his doctor for his monthly anti-psychotic injection, and no concerns were reported.
In the early hours of April 24, neighbours heard banging for five to 10 minutes coming from his unit, and noticed that his bedroom window was broken and there was a bad smell. A tenant reported the broken window to the tenancy manager. He was told to contact customer support.
Five days later, customer support emailed the tenancy manager to follow up the tenant’s concerns about the window and not seeing Puangi for days.
The tenancy manager tried calling Puangi, but there was no answer. He visited the unit and took photos of the glass, but didn’t knock due to Puangi’s “risk rating”.
The next day, emergency powers of entry were granted to the unit, so the window could be fixed. On May 2, Kāinga Ora staff and a locksmith went into the unit to find it in disarray and Puangi dead.
Terani Puangi said that due to decomposition, the family weren’t able to fly her brother’s body to Rarotonga to be buried on family land.
Her brother loved Rarotonga and his
heritage, she said, so the decision was upsetting.
“Seven days lying there is too long. It’s sad knowing he had to wait to be found.”
Kāinga Ora told the Coroner that welfare checks on tenants weren’t conducted until 2021, and it believed that the response to concerns about Puangi and his death were “adequate”.
Tetitaha said Puangi was a “vulnerable tenant” due to his mental health background, and his absence should have generated more investigation.
“Kāinga Ora classified his mental unwellness as a risk instead of vulnerability – if a welfare check was done on April 24, his death may have been prevented.
“He shouldn’t have been excluded from support measures due to his mental unwellness.”
Tetitaha recommended that Kāinga Ora review its policies and its definition of vulnerable tenants to include mental health conditions.
“Urgent checks should be done on vulnerable tenants when concerns are raised”.
Terani Puangi said she had come to terms with the situation. “It is what it is, I just hope Kāinga Ora have learnt from this and it doesn’t happen again.”
Kāinga Ora said it supported the Coroner’s recommendations.
John Tubberty, Kāinga Ora’s regional director for Auckland Central and East, said changes to the way it worked had been made. “Further improvements to enhance the way we support at-risk or vulnerable customers are being explored.”
Tubberty said there were limitations to the welfare role Kāinga could play, as tenants had the right to peaceful enjoyment.