The owner of a Tuturau slink skin business at the centre of a long-running dispute with Southland's councils has pleaded not guilty to three charges, including stalking and harassment of a neighbour.
Da Cheng Zhi, known as Eddie Zhi, appeared in person and represented himself in the Gore District Court on Wednesday, NZ Herald reported.
He denied a charge of stalking and harassment, which alleges he sent more than 100 unwanted emails to a neighbour knowing they were likely to cause fear or distress. He elected trial by jury on that charge.
He also denied causing serious emotional distress by posting a digital communication, described in court as a poster, on 4 October. That charge and a third will be heard by a judge alone.
A case review hearing has been set for 9 December.
The stalking and harassment offence was created in May this year and carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. The offence applies to a pattern of repeated conduct rather than a single act.
The Otago Daily Times reported separately on Wednesday that a judge had put Mr Zhi on a final warning after he complained that bail conditions restricting his social media use were too harsh, and advised him to "invest in a lawyer".
Mr Zhi's company, NZAgri Development Ltd, processes dead lambs and calves for their skins at Tuturau, between Mataura and Wyndham. It has been in dispute with Environment Southland and the Southland District Council for several years over thousands of carcasses stored on the property and the smell reaching neighbours.
That dispute has led to enforcement action, Environment Court proceedings over resource consent breaches and, after protests over the enforcement action, trespass notices barring Mr Zhi from the offices of both councils.
The Herald first reported the stalking and harassment charges on 12 October, after the neighbour dispute had drawn national attention earlier in the month.
Mr Zhi is next due in the Gore District Court on 9 December, when a trial date for the jury charge is likely to be set.
