Auckland, Oct 14 NZPA - Charges brought against businesswoman May Wang arose out of "the most egregious level of offending" and an application for her to be discharged without conviction should be turned down, a lawyer argued in court today.
Wang, who fronted a Chinese bid to buy 20 of the Crafar family farms, has pleaded not guilty to three Ministry of Economic Development charges of failing to keep proper books and records, failing to provide information to the liquidator, and leaving New Zealand to avoid examination by the liquidator.
At a sentence indication hearing in Auckland District Court today, Wang's lawyer Paul Sills sought a discharge without conviction.
He argued that a conviction would have detrimental consequences to her business interests that were out of proportion to the level of the alleged offending.
But the ministry's lawyer Natalie Small said that far from being discharged without conviction, Wang could be liable to a sentence of up to 12 months in prison.
Wang's offending was at "the most egregious level", she said.
Judge Robert Kerr said should she be found guilty it was likely she would also be convicted.
"It is important that all future business partners are aware of her past conduct and for that reason I oppose the discharge without conviction."
Wang will be in court for a defended hearing on December 2.
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