By Karen Pasco of 
Invercargill District Court. Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer
A builder was allegedly detained against his will and told he would have his toes cut off for botching a bathroom renovation, a court heard yesterday.
William Taranaki Taingahue Rangi, 42, pleaded not guilty to joint charges of kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Invercargill on December 10, 2020 at the start of a jury trial before Judge Duncan Harvey in the Invercargill District Court.
In his opening, Crown lawyer Mike Brownlie said the complainant, who has been granted name suppression, was duped into going to Rangi's house when he asked him to come and give him a quote to build a new deck using the pseudonym Winston.
The Crown's case was Rangi had learnt about a dispute the man was having about building work he had completed from a friend and had told them he could sort it out for $1000.
"The defendant told (the bathroom owner) that he knew someone in the Mongrel Mob and he could get his money back for him," Brownlie said.
After he had been lured to the property, the man was taken to the garage where another man was also present.
In his evidential police interview played in court yesterday, the complainant told Detective Jordan Edwards that he had his car keys and mobile phone taken from him when he entered the garage.
It was then they started talking about the bathroom work, saying he needed to refund some money.
"I got threatened that my toes were going to get cut off with garden hedge trimmers.
He said threats about his family members were made if he did not pay the money.
"I was pretty scared for my life, to be honest with you. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone; it was pretty bad."
He was made to enter his bank account PIN so his money could be accessed.
In all, $2000 was paid into the co-defendant's account.
He said during the kidnapping the pair would pass notes to one another which they later burned. They were also swapping SIM cards from different phones.
Although he knew one of the men, he said he had not seen him in years and was too scared to name who it was. He later gave his nickname - Spud.
He said he was feeling scared as a result of the incident.
"I don't feel comfortable driving around in Invercargill at all."
He said he wanted to liquidate everything and move away.
"Because I feel like I'm in big, big trouble and I've literally done nothing. I know I've done nothing.
"I don't do any drugs or whatnot else. I'm really scared, to be honest."
He thought it was odd that the man whose bathroom he had fixed would have arranged for the kidnapping to happen as he had been best friends with his son since they were at school together.
*This story originally appeared in the Otago Daily Times.
