Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
Between 27 July 2017 and 15 August 2017
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
For this summary, the penalty imposed was four months community detention.

Safety lessons learned:

N/A

Defendant name:
Davin James Heaps
 
Industry:
Agriculture
 
Date of offence:
Between 27 July 2017 and 15 August 2017
 
Facts in brief:
The Defendant is a Director of 4 Hippos Farm Limited. 4 Hippos Farm Limited operates a dairy farm in Wyndham, Southland and since 2016 has operated a firewood business from the farm.

An incident occurred on 27 July 2017 in which a victim injured his hand while operating a wood splitter. The wood splitter was designed so that the operator is required to use two hands to operate it. On the day of the incident, the wood splitter was able to operate it with only one hand. The Defendant instructed the victim to tell WorkSafe that the he had only been on the farm on a couple of occasions, that this was the first time he had used the wood splitter, that he wasn’t working for 4 Hippos Farm Limited, and that the wood splitter was a two-handed operation.

In a subsequent interview with the victim, he confirmed that the Defendant told him to lie about the incident.
 
Related prosecutions:
 
Offence section:
Section 117(e) Crimes Act 1961
 
Date(s) charged:
9 May 2018

Court:
Invercargill - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Fine imposed:
For this summary, the penalty imposed was four months community detention.
 
Maximum fine available:
For this prosecution, the maximum penalty available is seven years imprisonment.
 
Reparation:
N/A
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