The head of the Corrections Association is challenging Phillip Smith to prove his claims a prison officer helped him get a passport and says if the convicted murderer cannot he should stop making allegations.
Smith was on a three-day release from Spring Hill prison in Waikato when he left New Zealand on 6 November, flying to Chile and on to Brazil. He was detained in Rio de Janeiro on 13 November.
At the time was serving a life sentence, having been convicted in 1996 of murdering the father of a boy he had sexually assaulted. He was also convicted of kidnapping and several other charges.
Smith yesterday said a Corrections officer approached him in 2011 and offered him movies on a USB stick. He was then given a smartphone, and the officer would let him know when searches were going on so he could hide it.
Smith claimed it was that officer who got him a passport form and photo - and that it was also him who suggested he flee to South America.
Corrections Association head Beven Hanlon told Radio New Zealand that Smith was simply trying to get publicity and he has not heard anything to substantiate what he says.
“If he's got a corrupt Corrections officer as he claims, nobody wants to be working with that person. Put up the evidence, let’s get it done, and let’s bunk them together if they're such good friends.”