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National | Court

Racist sentencing review needed - NMA

Māori Authority chair Matthew Tukaki is calling for a review of racist court sentencing after a judge gave a man convicted of almost $10 Million dollars of money laundering, home detention.

Yinghui Zhang laundered millions of dollars between China and New Zealand, crimes that furnished the purchase of two homes in upmarket Remuera and luxury vehicles including a $280,000 Bentley and a $120,000 Mercedes-Benz.

Sentenced by Auckland District Judge Claire Ryan on Friday, Zhang who pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering was given 12 months home detention; a decision Tukaki slammed as "appalling", and disproportionate to Māori who may have committed lesser crimes.

“It is an absolute running joke and hypocrisy that this bloke gets away with a Netflix-and-laugh sentence while we have people who have been involved in, for example, welfare fraud receive custodial sentences – some of them stole to fund a survival lifestyle while this bloke was on the Bentleys and flash houses in Remuera.”

“There is the case of a lady who stole $48,000 to feed her meth addiction, living in a motel with two of her children in care and she got 18 months – what because she was a Māori with a track record when her last charge was 2014?” Tukaki added.

A $280,000 Bentley was among the millions of dollars of assets seized by police from Yinghui Zhang / NZME

Tukaki says sentencing statistics back his call for a review, a 2018 report revealed Māori were twice as likely to be imprisoned for committing the same offence as non-Māori.

"The Māori fella is more likely to come off with a harsher sentence – and that’s not to say they shouldn’t get a harsh sentence, which the law provides for, but what is right for one should be right for all. Such is the point of equitable sentencing," Tukaki said.

He also cited the sentencing of Waitangi settlement negotiator Sir Ngatata Love who was battling a heart condition, diabetes and dementia when sentenced after being convicted for obtaining property by deception.

"He was sentenced for an amount of $1.5 million to a custodial sentence – in the case of Yingzui Zhang the amount was nearly $10 million,"

‘So Sir Ngatata Love goes to jail and this one gets to order his favourite Uber Eats while sitting at home watching Netflix,” Tukaki said.

Yinghui Zhang leaves the Auckland District Court in 2019. Photo / NZME

Tukaki reiterated his point that people should go to jail but equity needed to be at the forefront of judges' rulings.

“We are already dealing with the review of cases presided over by one judge but the list of disparity and inequity in sentencing goes deeper than that.”

“I am sick and tired of the perception people are treated worse at sentencing because of the colour of their skin, or culture.”

Tukaki also took aim at deportation policies for cases like Zhang’s and also cases of foreign nationals who have been behind Covid-19 misinformation campaigns.

“You commit a crime in this country, it tells me you do not respect our laws, so let’s not dilly dally with this sort of hoha – do the crime, do the time and if they're not from Aotearoa, then send them packing,” Tukaki said.

$250,000 cash seized during Operation Menelaus which saw Yinghui Zhang prosecuted for money laundering. Photo / NZME