Vietnam man living in Central Otago took on another's person's identity so he could continue living and working in New Zealand, the Alexandra District Court was told yesterday.
Van Cuong Nguyen (26), of Vietnam, who was working in Cromwell, pleaded guilty to giving a false or misleading name and address to a police officer.
He was convicted and discharged by justices of the peace Bob McNeil and Linda Flude and ordered to pay court costs of $132.89.
Nguyen had been driving near Cromwell on November 25 and produced a learner driver licence in someone else's name when stopped by a policeman, prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin said.
The person whose name was on the licence had left New Zealand earlier this year.
The defendant admitted the licence-holder was a friend of his and told police he had adopted the man's identity because he "needed the money", Sgt Collin said.
Nguyen had been served with a removal order under the Immigration Act and would be leaving New Zealand shortly, he said.
Defence counsel Tim Cadogan said there was "more to it" than the facts outlined by the prosecutor.
"A middle-man arranged it.
It was a bit of a scam and he [Nguyen] was given the identification so he could stay in the country and keep working ," Mr Cadogan said.
Nguyen was helping Immigration New Zealand with its inquiries into the matter and doing everything he could to assist them.
He was to return home in early January and was currently working to pay for his air fare.
Approached by the Otago Daily Times to comment on the case, an Immigration New Zealand spokesman said the department would not, "as it might prejudice that investigation."
The department also declined to comment on a person's immigration status and whether they would be deported.
Central Otago sub-area police commander Senior Sergeant Jill Woods said she was unaware of any immigration "scam" involving the use of driver's licences.
"It's not an issue that's been bought to my attention and I'm not aware of any police investigation into the matter," she said.
The New Zealand Transport Agency issues driver's licences and its media manager, Andy Knackstedt, said although he could not comment on this particular case, he could speak in general.
"Out primary concern is road safety. Photo driver licences were introduced to allow the police positive identification so they knew immediately if a person was entitled to be driving and whether they were a learner or had a full licence."
"That's why we added photos to the driver-licence system."
It was obviously concerning when a licence was used by someone other than the licence-holder as a form of identification.
"In circumstances like this, if it was used in this way and bought to our attention, we'd work together with the immigration service, the police and whatever other agencies are involved, to address the matter," Mr Knackstedt said.
It was illegal for a person other than the licence holder to use a licence as identification but it was difficult to prevent, he said.
