An Englishman on a working holiday who ripped off a Queenstown business left the country without starting his community-work sentence.
He may be one of many to exploit a legal loophole and abandon penalties imposed by the court.
Corrections says no border alert was put on Daniel Nathan Titcombe’s passport or, indeed, anyone sentenced to community work, because it is "one of the lowest-level sentences a judge can impose".
The stance has effectively allowed anyone subject to the penalty to avoid completing the sentence by leaving the country.
Titcombe (26) appeared before the Dunedin District Court in December having admitted two charges of theft by a person in a special relationship.
Between September and October the defendant stole nearly $3000 from Escape Quest, where he worked.
In December, Judge Michael Turner ordered him to repay the cash and sentenced him to 175 hours’ community work.
"What I have before me is a person who’s acted entirely dishonestly, who was given employment in a position of responsibility and whom employers had some trust in. And you breached all that and helped yourself to money that belonged to the business," the judge said.
"You’re not working, so you have plenty of time to do community work."
But instead of rolling up his sleeves, Titcombe was on a flight back to the UK the day after the hearing.
Immigration confirmed to the Otago Daily Times the man left the country "voluntarily" and Corrections confirmed no border alert was placed preventing him from departing.
Titcombe had surrendered his passport while on bail but a Ministry of Justice spokesman said when the case had been resolved he requested it be returned and it was.
"As there was no court order requiring the passport to be retained, the court released the passport and advised the Department of Internal Affairs that there was no longer a hold on its use," the spokesman said.
Escape Quest owner Gareth Ireland called the situation "completely outrageous".
The company was informed of Titcombe’s hasty exit a couple of weeks after it happened and had only recently received the cheque paying back what he owed.
"We were stunned, absolutely stunned," Mr Ireland said.
The issue had extra relevance for them being in Queenstown, where the majority of employees were overseas passport holders.
Mr Ireland said Titcombe’s case was well known among the small community and the outcome might embolden others to commit similar offences.
"It’s a terrifying prospect because anyone you employ knows that," he said.
"All the population here talks and it seems like [the loophole] is common knowledge."
At the end of last month, Corrections charged Titcombe with breaching his community-work sentence.
A warrant for his arrest was issued when he did not appear in court.It meant if he returned to the country he could be arrested and jailed for up to three months.
But Mr Ireland reckoned Titcombe would not be back.Corrections chief Probation officer Darius Fagan said non-compliance with community-work sentences "will always be taken seriously" but accepted action could only be taken if and when the offender returned to the country.
The loophole may be about to close, though, through the Enhancing Identity Verification and Border Processes Legislation Bill, which passed its first reading in September and is before the Law and Order Select Committee.
"If passed it would strengthen standard release conditions to prohibit many offenders under our management from leaving New Zealand without the prior written consent from their probation officer," Mr Fagan said.
Justice Minister Amy Adams introduced the Bill in Parliament and said it was sparked by murderer Phillip John Smith, who fled the country for Brazil while subject to life imprisonment.
"This Bill enables justice, border, and identity sector agencies to manage the ongoing risk posed by offenders," she said.
"It enhances border processes, to better identify people who are not permitted to leave the country."
Corrections could not give the ODT numbers of foreign passport holders who had left the country while subject to a sentence and said it would have to be the subject of an Official Information Act request.
In 2015-16, 15,500 people were sentenced to community work.
- Rob Kidd