Pacific / French Polynesia

Tahiti assembly member to face court over cyclone aid favouritism

09:47 am on 14 August 2017

A French Polynesian assembly member is facing criminal charges for favouring relatives in the distribution of cyclone aid.

The French Polynesian assembly Photo: RNZ/ Walter Zweifel

Tahiti Nui TV reported Chantal Tahiata would be taken to court over the allocation of replacement homes after Cyclone Oli in 2010.

She is alleged to have been part of the commission which decided to give homes to her uncle and her father's cousin.

However, investigators, which found that this amounted to undue influence, detected no fraud.

A date for her court appearance has yet to be set, but if convicted, she would become ineligible to hold public office.

Shortly after the cyclone struck, Ms Tahiata accused a rival member in the assembly of having favoured people in the aid distribution.

Ms Tahiata is a member of the opposition pro-independence Union For Democracy group.