Neglect trial told of son spending $275,000

An elderly man with advanced dementia needed more than $800 of groceries in six days and spent $370 to get his hair cut and cleaned as he ‘‘likes the girls touching his hair’’, his son told police.

The son was quizzed by police over a series of transactions from a joint family bank account, including thousands of dollars in Trade Me purchases, a ride-on lawn mower and a horse for his father to visit.

During an interview an officer suggested he had made almost 800 transactions which had no explanation, using $275,000 for his own personal gain – an accusation he rejected.

The man’s son and his son’s partner are on trial in the Christchurch District Court before Judge Mark Callaghan on two charges of neglect of a vulnerable adult. The son faces a charge of assault.

The son is also alleged to have taken about $275,000 from his father’s bank account, and faces 32 charges of theft by a person in a special relationship. He also faces a fraud charge alleging he forged a document purporting to be for repairs to his father’s home.

Bank records show he almost immediately transferred the money out of his own account to pay for a truck.

The elderly man has since died. Yesterday, the court was played the man’s interview with police in relation to the fraud charges.

Constable Debbie Bole interviewed the son about the alleged thefts and fraud.

Bole discussed the son’s role as enduring power of attorney. He said he believed it meant he looked after his dad day-to-day, looking after his affairs and ‘‘anything he needs or wants’’.

He said he and his parents opened a bank account together after he helped them with the insurance settlement for the house. The money was supposed to cover anything they wanted to buy to repair the house.

He said he was ‘‘not an accountant’’, and believed the family’s solicitor was looking over the transactions.

When he moved in he gave up his business and no longer earned an income. He said his mother told him they would ‘‘pay for everything’’ he needed, but they needed him to be there to look after them.

During the interview Bole quizzed the man on transactions from the account, including $6000 in TradeMe purchases, a ride-on lawn mower, and a mannequin.

He also bought a horse for his father to visit and ‘‘spend time patting it’’.

Bole also referred to two visits to a hairdresser, one for just under $300, and another for $370.

The son said his father got his hair cut and coloured, and that it was ‘‘something he liked’’.

Bole mentioned bank records that showed $840 was spent over six days at a supermarket in March 2020, and asked what it was the man’s father needed.

The son said his dad often had diarrhoea so they would buy carpet shampoo and adult nappies, and also bought cough medicine and bandages.

Bole said there were over 780 transactions for which there were no ‘‘reasonable explanations’’, and said he had used $275,000 for his own personal gain.

‘‘No, I haven’t used any of it for my own personal benefit, 90% of it has gone to improve the house,’’ the son replied.

The trial continues.