Accused may bewelfare fraud
A woman accused of her mother’s gross neglect allegedly claimed welfare benefits while working full time.
The High Court at Auckland heard on Monday that Cindy Taylor then paid all of her salary and $280 per week from a Work and Income job seeker benefit to her flatmate and friend Luana Taylor.
Cindy Taylor is charged with manslaughter following the death of her mother Ena Lai Dung, 76, whose body was found at her Manurewa home in January 2015.
Dung died from malnutrition and weighed just 29kg.
She was discovered lying in her own waste and had developed bed sores all over her body, the court heard.
Cindy Taylor’s flatmates and friends Brian and Luana Taylor are charged with failing to protect a vulnerable adult.
All three have pleaded not guilty and are defending the charges.
Cindy Taylor is also charged with dishonestly using her mother and late uncle’s Eftpos cards to withdraw about $37,000 from the pair’s pensions.
She is not facing any charges relating to fraudulently claiming a benefit.
At the trial on Monday, Crown prosecutor Natalie Walker presented Cindy Taylor’s bank account records.
The records showed that in 2014, a benefit of $280 was being paid into her account on a weekly basis, although she was working 40 hours a week.
Cindy Taylor says she believed the payments were for her arthritis in her knees, for which she thought she could receive disability payments.
The account records showed that whatever money Cindy Taylor came into, she would immediately transfer to a joint account held by Brian and Luana Taylor.
Cindy Taylor told the court that she owed Luana Taylor money, but refused to say how much she owed or what it was for. ‘‘That’s personal,’’ she says. Cindy Taylor has been giving evidence in her defence since Friday.
She claims her mother was bulimic and that she refused to eat or to be seen by medical professionals.
She denies that her actions lead to her mother’s death.
But she agreed that the pair had a rocky relationship, which Cindy Taylor was trying to mend.
The trial is expected to finish this week.
Go to stuff.co.nz for updates