Man jailed for threatening to kill acquitted over ex’s lies

A man jailed for threatening to kill his former partner with a screwdriver has been acquitted after it was revealed she previously lied about similar alleged attacks.

Justice Graham Lang quashed Rahiri Pomana’s 22-month jail term after he appealed the sentence handed down by the District

Court in June.

Pomana, of Auckland, argued a miscarriage of justice had occurred because the prosecution did not give ‘‘full and material disclosure’’ to his lawyer about his former partner’s previous conviction for making false statements.

Those actions, Pomana said, impacted the case’s outcome, and he appealed to have his convictions set aside.

During his District

Court hearing, the prosecution argued Pomana forcibly dragged his expartner, who was celebrating her birthday, into his car after intercepting her as she headed from one friend’s home to another.

It was claimed he threatened people at the address and, after the pair left, Pomana threatened to give his ex-partner ‘‘a hiding’’.

Pomana denied the allegations but was charged and later convicted of assaulting a female, threatening to kill and being in possession weapon.

But after the District Court hearing, police disclosed the complainant’s previous conviction – making a false statement that an offence had been committed – to Pomana’s defence team.

The conviction related to an incident in December 2015 when she and another woman falsely claimed a man [not Pomana] grabbed the other woman and dragged her away whilst carrying

of

an

offensive a long butcher-type knife.

The pair eventually admitted falsifying their statements.

It was also discovered Pomana faced another trial for allegedly injuring his former girlfriend with intent, but charges were dropped when his counsel obtained diary notes that again suggested the allegations were not true.

Justice Lang quashed Pomana’s convictions and sentence and ruled out a re-trial.