Koro Putea spent a month more more in prison than he should have. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
A man who was found to have been arbitrarily detained for 33 days will not be compensated.
Koro Putua spent more time in prison than he should have due to an administrative error in the District Court.
A court registrar had given the wrong paperwork to the judge to sign after Putea's sentencing on 15 September 2016, but neither the judge nor the prison checked if it was correct.
Despite claims he protested there had been a mistake when he arrived at the prison, authorities did not realise an error had been made until four years later - in December 2020.
By this time, Putea had been imprisoned for 33 days longer than he was sentenced to.
The High Court originally awarded the man damages of $11,000, but the Court of Appeal declined to make the Crown pay as mistakes are covered by judicial immunity.