19 Feb 2012

Medal thief loses appeal over detention

7:06 am on 19 February 2012

A man jailed for the theft of medals from the Waiouru Army Museum has lost his Court of Appeal challenge to the validity of his imprisonment.

Ronald van Wakeren was jailed in 2009 for the theft of the medals.

His sentence was reduced on appeal to 12 years and three months and his minimum jail term was reduced to six years.

On Thursday, van Wakeren went to the Court of Appeal regarding a High Court judge's refusal to grant a writ of habeus corpus - the constitutional safeguard against unlawful detention.

The Court of Appeal said the Supreme Court had already refused to hear another appeal against his sentence filed by van Wakeren.

It said writs of habeas corpus are not to be used as another way of challenging a sentence when appeal avenues have already failed.