Nattrass case judge to retire
Judge Brian Caird, who triggered a storm by alleging two other judges had pressured him to find a man guilty of fraud, last night said he had an 'abnormality . . . of the brain' and would seek retirement on medical grounds.
In a statement released yesterday, the judge said he 'may have been suffering from an acute confused state and was delusional' when he made the allegations against fellow judges Clare Beeson and Richard Hawkes.
But a government spokesman said he could still face an inquiry into whether he should be sacked for making false allegations against the judges.
An independent medical board appointed under the Civil Service Regulations will consider Judge Caird's request to the Governor for early retirement.
Independent legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing immediately called on the Governor not to scrap the inquiry into the affair, saying it was necessary to 'clear the air'.
'One cannot help but suspect that he [Judge Caird] may be doing this to avoid this inquiry,' she said.
Judge Caird, 59, had about 10 months to go before his official retirement, when he alleged judges Beeson and Hawkes put pressure on him to find New Zealand immigration consultant Aaron Nattrass guilty of 35 counts of obtaining property by deception.
He told two Crown lawyers of this alleged pressure over the weekend of August 17 at his Peak home.
Democratic Party chairman and Queen's Counsel Martin Lee Chu-ming yesterday paid tribute to the fairness of 'one of my favourite judges' and said Judge Caird's decision to seek retirement was 'very honourable'.
The statement issued yesterday by Judge Caird's lawyer, Jonathan Midgley, said: 'Judge Caird wishes us to say that whatever he said or thought at the time, neither Judge Beeson nor Judge Hawkes have applied any pressure on him whatsoever in respect of the Nattrass case.
'He is horrified at the mess which he had no intention to cause. He is concerned about the judges who have been drawn into this.' But Nattrass yesterday said: 'I was there all through the trial. He wasn't hallucinating. He was sharp and could remember everything from day one.' The statement said tests, including a brain scan, indicated 'an abnormality of the right parietal lobe of the brain'.
Leading neurosurgeon Dr Yu Chung-ping said the term was vague and 'really involves all sorts of conditions'. But a tumour in that area could result in complex and elaborate body image disturbances, or disturbances of visual recognition, including the inability to recognise faces.
Mr Lee said he expected acting Chief Justice Noel Power would 'look into' other cases heard by the judge in recent months. Just two weeks before the alleged incident Judge Caird sentenced a man to three years' jail for counterfeiting banknotes.
A secret judicial inquiry cleared the two judges but attributed Judge Caird's claims to 'insomnia' and said 'purely social conversations became magnified in his mind and assumed a significance which they did not have'.
The Democrats are to call for the Government to make the judicial inquiry public.
Liberal Party legislator and solicitor Ronald Arculli said: 'We have to take into account the judge's privacy,' and said there was no need to make the medical reports public.
Mr Midgley said Judge Caird had recognised the 'bizarre nature' of what he had done, and said his request for retirement was made 'with much regret'.
'There have been a lot of tears,' Mr Midgley said. 'His wife is very upset about the whole episode. He is seriously ill.'
