Property developer Ee Kuoh (Augustine) Lau, 43, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court yesterday to 2 years’ jail for transgressing resource management & building laws.
That’s on top of a jail term of 2 months & 2 weeks he’s serving for felling native trees. He was also adjudicated bankrupt on 10 May.
Auckland Council said the 2-year sentence ordered by Judge Craig Thompson was unprecedented, and a strong warning to others who would consider this type of offending. The council said the previous longest jail term handed down under the Resource Management Act was 6 months.
Mr Lau faced 17 charges under the Resource Management Act & 10 under the Building Act, in addition to charges under the Companies Act, for undertaking illegal development of 6 properties around Auckland.
Judge Thompson said Mr Lau had completely ignored risks identified by others, and rejected any suggestion that the offending was impulsive. Rather, it was calculated & long-term.
“The offences he has committed in these instances were committed for financial gain. They were premeditated, he knew exactly what he was setting out to do and he knew that what he was doing was unlawful. He continued to do it nevertheless.”
Charges relate to 6 Lau-managed properties
Mr Lau managed the development of a number of properties around the Auckland region. These charges related to 6 of those properties – the 3 worst in Flat Bush, Paremoremo & Otahuhu.
The property in Flat Bush was allowed a single dwelling under the district plan, but it was converted into 2 dwellings. 2 former classrooms & a relocated house were also moved onto the property. As a result, there were 8 dwellings on the property.
4 were connected to the existing sewerage disposal system, which was overloaded as a result. The other 4 were connected to a newly constructed system which was completely inadequate and discharged raw sewage to a slope above a stream, which was contaminated by the discharge. This discharge area was immediately adjacent to the houses and was unsecured, creating health risks & unpleasant odours for the tenants.
Mr Lau ignored court enforcement orders. As a result, the council said it had to remedy the breaches at its own cost.
At Paremoremo, a property with a single house & a garage was also permitted to have one dwelling & one minor dwelling. Mr Lau took over management of the property, converted the original house into 3 dwellings, the garage into another dwelling, and relocated a house onto the property which was made into 5 dwellings – a total of 9.
Again, almost-raw sewage from a constructed system was discharged onto land where it could have entered a stream, and all related enforcement proceedings were ignored.
At an Otahuhu property Mr Lau managed, 900m³ of earthworks were undertaken without preparation or compaction and without consent. The council said it was unstable & unsafe.
The fill material used included rubbish & debris, and the top layer contained asbestos fibre and fines & fragments of asbestos-containing material. Interim enforcement orders were issued & again ignored. Instead, a pile of material, including more asbestos, was flattened into the site.
Councillor: clear message about illegal antics
Council regulatory committee chair Linda Cooper said: “This strong decision of the court shows that Aucklanders don’t have to put up with illegal antics from dubious developers. It sends a clear message that these actions, which affect things like water quality & public health, are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
“While the council encourages development to meet the current housing shortage, the rules are there for a reason. Our officers won’t hesitate to take action if you’re doing it illegally, at the expense of the environment.”
Council regulatory compliance manager Steve Pearce welcomed the outcome as it would be a significant deterrent for other property developers tempted to follow Mr Lau’s offending.
“This has been a difficult and significant case that the council has been working on for a number of years. We are pleased to have reached this point and received such a significant penalty from the court.
“We generally take a graduated approach to enforcement and will help people to comply where we can, either by giving advice & warnings first or giving them the opportunity to apply for any consents & permits that might be necessary.
“However, in cases such as this, where there are significant adverse effects and an offender who continually ignores the council’s requests, we will use all of the enforcement tools available to us, including pursuing offenders through the courts.”
Attribution: Council release.
