News
Man Pleads Guilty to 'Anime' Pornography in New Zealand
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
A 22-year-old Chinese man has pled guilty on Wednesday to five charges of importing prohibited goods into New Zealand. According to the New Zealand news source The Press, Xiran Zhang (pictured at right), a first year engineering student at Canterbury University, had brought 10 DVDs of "cartoon films, known as 'anime', [that] depicted scenes of rape, abuse, and bestiality" into the country when he flew in from Shanghai.
Zhang's lawyer Simon Clay had argued for Zhang to be discharged without conviction under section 106 of New Zealand's Criminal Justice Act, which states, "If a person who is charged with an offence is found guilty or pleads guilty, the court may discharge the offender without conviction, unless by any enactment applicable to the offence the court is required to impose a minimum sentence."
However, Judge Raoul Neave did not grant the discharge, noting that he was concerned about issues raised in Zhang's pre-sentence report, although Neave did not mention what those issues were. The judge is giving Zhang time to address the issues before he hands down a sentence, so that he might consider discharging Zhang without a conviction. The prosecution in the case has said that they consider supervision as the appropriate sentence.
Zhang is currently in New Zealand on a student visa, but that visa has been suspended pending the outcome of his case.
Thanks to Aaron B. for the news tip.
Image © Dean Kozanic
