Court considers fate of ‘taonga’

Guy Tahau admitted possessing a firearm without a licence, but has appealed to the District Court not to order that one of the seized weapons be forfeited.

Tahau (52) told Judge Keith de Ridder in Kaitaia last week that the shotgun had been won by his father at the national junior clay target shooting championships in 1965.

From the age of 10 he had been taught to use it by his father to shoot small game, for about 30 seasons.

The shotgun had been a crucial part of his relationship with his father, and forfeiture would deprive him of a taonga “forever”.

The forfeiture order was deferred until May 17 to give police time to check the bone fides of another party in the Bay of Plenty, who Tahau said had a firearms licence and the ability to store the shotgun safely.

He had no objection to forfeiting a .22 rifle that had also been seized.

Tahau had come to police attention in November, after a neighbour’s dog was shot in a possum hunting accident at Herekino.

The defendant admitted shooting the dog by mistake, on his own property, saying it had been an accident.

He showed police the two firearms. He did not have a safe in which to store them.

He also said he had a firearms licence. Police took the weapons for safe keeping. Two days later, when he went to the police station to collect a receipt for them, he admitted that he did not have a licence.