The man who kidnapped and murdered a pregnant woman in a drug deal that went wrong has had one year shaved off his sentence.
In November last year, Paraire Te Awa was jailed 21 years for the 2012 kidnapping and murder of Rae Portman, whose body was found in a pit in South Auckland.
Te Awa took his case to the Court of Appeal, where it was determined that the sentencing judge added a year for lack of remorse and his previous convictions that were mainly for dishonesty and child sex offending.
However, the Court of Appeal found that lack of remorse was not an aggravating feature and Te Awa's criminal record, although extensive, did not justify adding time to the sentence.
Te Awa and the mastermind behind the kidnapping, Dean Addison, also appealed against their convictions, presenting new evidence to the court.
The court found that in both cases the new evidence was not credible.
Addison's sentence of 12 years' imprisonment for kidnapping and drugs charges was also upheld.