UPDATE 2.10.2013: An immigration consultant abused his profession by trying to have sex with a client and also reported her to Immigration New Zealand for deportation after he found out the client would leave his home, a Wellington tribunal has found.
The victim, who has name suppression and her country of origin was not named to protect her identity has already been deported to the island.
An affidavit filed to support her complaint was accepted by the tribunal with Chairperson G. Pearson said Mr Hakaoro, the registered immigration adviser attempted to “secure sexual availability” in exchange for immigration service he promised her.
The tribunal found that the victim was “exploited” and undertook “inappropriate tasks” including “messaging Mr Hakaoro’s wife in the early hours in the bedroom Mr Hakaoro shared with his wife”
“It also involved heavy lifting” and “she was not paid any wage.
At one stage, Hakaoro when he was alone with the victim told her something like “he would get her a residence permit if she would have sexual intercourse with him”. The victim rejected it and told Hakaoro “she would return to her country of origin.”
The victim was “frightened” and eventually abandoned Mr Hakaoro at the end of August 2011 and moved to stay with a person who was only known as Ms BFZ.
In October 2011 the victim was arrested as she was unlawfully in New Zealand. She was told that Mr Hakaoro told Immigration New Zealand of her unlawful status. She was later deported.
The tribunal was informed there “had been three or four prior occasions where Mr Hakaoro and his wife had exploited young women in a similar manner” but the tribunal did not take it into consideration as “no further evidence of that had been provided”.
Mr Hakaoro together with his wife denied any sexual attempts against the victim saying “they took her to their home, treated her as a family member, and had no expectations of her.” Mr Hakaoro and his wife told the tribunal the “complaint of attempted sexual exploitation” was made up by the victim.
However, the tribunal said it “satisfied the evidence given by the complainant is true” and that “Mr Hakaoro used his status as a licensed adviser to exploit the complainant.”
Mr Hakaoro “dishonestly promised to provide professional services in exchange for domestic services and did not deliver or intend to deliver those services,” the tribunal’s report said.
The tribunal heard the complainant came to New Zealand on February 3, 2010, and her visa expired on December 4.
She sought opportunities to study in New Zealand but her circumstance ended her up “in a situation where she was unlawfully in New Zealand and under financial stress”.
The victim was 19 on July 2011 when a cousin told her about the immigration service of Mr Hakaoro and his wife who were said to be staying in Mangere.
The cousin told the victim Mr Hakaoro would provide her “assistance with immigration issues in exchange for domestic duties”.
The victim contacted Mr Hakaoro and his wife and upon arrangement “she agreed to be a servant to Mr Hakaoro and his wife”.
It said the arrangement was that she would live in the home occupied by Mr Hakaoro and his wife and work in the home on exchange for immigration services for “a value of up to some $5,000.”
The victim was told by Mr Hakaoro and his wife shortly after she took these duties she had been issued with a work permit and it has cost them $5000. The victim believed it although it was false.
Mr Hakaoro is not new to the New Zealand islanders community especially Tongans as he was in the Tongan local media previously in cases of similar nature to this case.
The Immigration Advisory Authority cancelled Mr Hakaoro’s license on June 4, 2013.
