Detention for former F& P Health manager

A former Fisher & Paykel Healthcare worker has been sentenced to eights months’ home detention for receiving nearly $ 300,000 in secret commission payments from the company’s Middle Eastern clients and for deceiving the NZX- listed firm.

Simon William Hall, who worked at F& P Healthcare from 2002 to the end of 2014, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

Hall, according to a Serious Fraud Office statement, pleaded guilty in March to one charge of obtaining by deception and two charges under the Secret Commissions Act.

“Mr Hall committed the offences while in his role as an area manager based in Auckland and dealing with companies in the Middle Eastern market.

“The charges related to payments received by Mr Hall for approving a Saudi Arabian company as a distributor of F& P Healthcare products and a single payment from a Jordanian company which also became a distributor.

“F& P Healthcare had no knowledge that Mr Hall received those payments.

“In addition to those offences, Mr Hall made false representations to F& P Healthcare regarding commission payments for installations of products that never took place,” the SFO said yesterday.

Hall received about US$ 213,000 ($ 295,000) in payments, the SFO said.

SFO director Julie Read said Hall had “let down his employer and potentially tarnished the reputation of how New Zealand entities do business with overseas operators”.

“New Zealand is known for corruption- free business practices and the SFO will continue to act in cases like this to maintain that reputation,” she said.