‘Smart people don’t go to jail’
A self-employed Christchurch plumber, who is owed $l6OO by one customer, has joined the call for fairer treatment of debtors. Mr Arthur Peters said he had been owed $l6OO by one person for two years. Mr Peters had taken the man to court, but he had managed to evade paying. The debtor had since built a new house, owned two cars, and held down two jobs.. Yet this man knew how'to avoid paying his debts, Mr Peters said. "The ones who go to prison are not the smart ones,” he said. “They are,
rather sadly, the ones who’ are not good at looking after themselves, and they should not go to jail. "Frankly, the smart ones don’t go to jail. They find legal loopholes and get out of it.” Mr Peters said the law should be tightened so that people could not avoid paying debts through legal loopholes. At the same time, there should be help available for those who genuinely could not afford to pay their bills. Mr Peters agreed that there should be a mediation service available for those who disputed bills.
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Press, 12 September 1986, Page 8
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190‘Smart people don’t go to jail’ Press, 12 September 1986, Page 8
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