The businessman's trial began on February 18 and was interrupted by another Government-ordered Covid-19 lockdown, which halted the proceeding for a week. Today, after hearing all the evidence, Justice Geoffrey Venning told jurors: "Where the truth lies is up to you." They told the court they had been hired by the businessman - via his manager - to stop the court case. "If anyone came up with this outrageous, stupid criminal plan, then it was on the Gold Coast and it was [the entertainer]," she said. The entertainer has already pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice for the Gold Coast plot and the April 2017 effort.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 21, 2021 22:57 UTC