THE PRESS, Christchurch
Friday, October 29, 2010 NEWS A7
■ MARLBOROUGH
Victim: Jamahl Hamilton, of Christchurch, and his daughter Christie-Lee Robson, of Blenheim. Hamilton was injured when he was hit by north-bound
motorist Clifford Brent Markland near Weld Pass, south of Blenheim.
Photo: BLAIR ENSOR
Home detention for
hit-and-run accident
A Christchurch man lay
unconscious on the northbound lane of the Weld Pass
with broken ankles and a
broken leg after a 55-year-old
Blenheim man hit him and
drove off.
Clifford Brent Markland
was sentenced to four months
home detention, disqualified
for two years and ordered to
pay $3000 to his victim after
admitting careless driving
causing injury and failing to
stop after an injury accident.
Police asked the 37-year-old
victim, Jamahl Hamilton, to
leave the Blenheim District
Court because of the gestures
he was making while Markland was being sentenced.
Judge Denys Barry said
Markland drove through
Weld Pass about 11.30pm on
May 15 on his way to
Blenheim. The night was
overcast and the road was
wet, but conditions were
reasonable, he said.
Hamilton stopped on the
side of the road to inspect
damage to his car after he hit
a barrier. Markland collided
with the open driver’s door
and also ran into Hamilton
before driving on, he said.
Two motorists travelling
south saw Hamilton unconscious and diverted other cars
and administered first aid, he
said.
Hamilton suffered two
broken ankles, a broken left
leg and head injuries and was
admitted to the intensive care
unit at Wairau Hospital. He
also needed surgery.
Markland carried on to
Blenheim and parked his
then-wife’s car on the street,
the judge said.
Markland did not come
forward as the driver despite
media coverage after the
incident, but admitted his role
when spoken to by police.
Hamilton’s
daughter,
Christie-Lee Robson, of Blenheim, said she was disgusted
at the sentence: ‘‘It’s a load of
rubbish what he got . . . I’ve
got a nine-month-old baby and
I want my dad to see his
grandchild grow up.
‘‘I was really hoping he got
jail, but I’m glad it’s done and
dusted and we can get on with
Fairfax
our lives.’’
■ VIETNAM VETERAN
■ ALL BLACKS
Cancer claims war hero
If Henry
was
speeding
no-one’s
telling
Mike Crean
A war hero who fought for
recognition of New Zealand
soldiers’ service in Vietnam
has died in a Christchurch
hospice.
Lieutenant Colonel John
Masters had been ill with
cancer for more than a year.
He died yesterday morning,
aged 75.
Masters’ army service and
advocacy for the soldiers he
commanded in Vietnam won
him the inaugural Anzac of
the Year Award in April,
although he was too ill to
receive it in person.
The Royal NZ Returned
and Services’ Association
(RSA) chose him for the
award, which honours the
person who best represents
the Anzac spirit.
Prime Minister John Key
presented it to his family.
The former Invercargill
man served as an army officer
for 27 years.
He fought in the
Indonesian Confrontation,
attached to a Gurkha
battalion, in 1965. His rescue,
under fire, of a wounded
Gurkha soldier was honoured
with the Military Cross,
presented by the Queen at
Buckingham Palace.
Masters expressed a wish
to meet the Gurkha,
Hariparsad Gurung, again
and a reunion was arranged
in Christchurch in February.
Many of Masters’ former
soldiers also attended.
Masters commanded an
artillery battery in Vietnam.
Returning to New Zealand in
1971, he was shocked by the
Lest we forget: Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, who won the inaugural
Anzac of the Year Award, has died in Christchurch. Photo: DAVID HALLETT
abuse the troops received.
The dismissive treatment
by the government, army and
RSA of men who had been
doing their duty at their
country’s bidding hurt him.
He took up the cause of proper
recognition for their war
service.
Masters retired from the
army in 1983 and settled in
Christchurch with his wife,
Alisoun.
By then, former soldiers
were dying prematurely.
Masters believed the cause
was their exposure to the
defoliant Agent Orange,
which American planes had
sprayed on the jungle. He
campaigned for
compensation, on behalf of the
troops.
He produced proof that
countered official denials of
exposure to the carcinogenic
chemical. His actions gained a
government apology and
some redress.
He was appointed an
Officer of the NZ Order of
Merit in 2002.
Masters’ biography, A
Bridge Over, by Allan
Marriott, was published last
November.
■ FOX GLACIER
Skydiving firm reopens after crash
Amy Glass
A Fox Glacier skydiving
company which owned a
plane that crashed, killing
nine people on board, has
reopened for business.
Five men who worked for
Skydive New Zealand, including company director Rod
Miller, and four tourists were
killed in the crash at the Fox
Glacier airstrip on September
4. Skydive New Zealand jointventure partner John Kerr
said the company, which
closed after the crash, was
back in business on a ‘‘much
smaller scale’’.
He said he had leased a
plane and was flying for the
company, and hoped to hire a
second pilot after Christmas.
It was important to keep
the business going for the
sake of Miller’s family, he
said. ‘‘We have had a lot of
support from the local community, who were keen to see
us reopen,’’ he said.
A Transport Accident
Investigation Commission
spokesman said the interim
report on the crash would be
available to the public after
November 8.
The full investigation
could take up to two years to
complete, he said.
All Blacks coach Graham
Henry may have avoided a
speeding ticket in Auckland,
but police are refusing to say
whether he was even stopped.
In a statement, Auckland
police would only say that no
‘‘prominent New Zealander’’
was ‘‘let off’’ for speeding, but
then added that a police
officer who stopped people
last weekend was not authorised to issue speeding tickets.
TV3 reported that the All
Blacks head coach was allegedly driving at 81kmh in a
50kmh zone on the Auckland
waterfront when caught, but
was let off with a warning.
If Henry was indeed driving and speeding, and
ticketed, he would have been
given 40 demerit points and
fined $300.
Yesterday, Auckland City
District Commander Superintendent George Fraser said
that a lone police officer
stopped five motorists on
Tamaki Drive between 6pm
and 9.30pm.
‘‘All five motorists were
warned about speeding and
had their vehicles checked for
current warrant and registration status,’’ he said.
Fraser said no tickets were
issued because the officer
concerned was not certified to
use a speed radar.
‘‘And the officer knew he
couldn’t issue a ticket,’’ he
said.
The officer stopped nine
motorists that evening in
various city locations.
Police refused to confirm if
Henry was among the five
people stopped and warned,
saying that if they did they
would have to name the
others.
All Blacks media manager
Joe Locke would not comFairfax
ment.
❯❯ Editorial A14