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'Bundles' of letters of support to help restaurateur facing deportation
Gail Ruansook cries desperate tears thinking about herchildren's future.
Lawyers and community leaders are rallying behind the"well loved" Thai restaurant worker who has grave fears of beingdeported after being convicted of tax offences.
Yaowaluck Ruansook - known as Gail - was convicted andsentenced at the Nelson District Court in May this year. As a Thai national with New Zealand residency, Immigration New Zealand is currently assessing her liability for deportation.
Ruansook previously owned Golden Bell Restaurant, and nowworks at U-Thong Thai Restaurant.
She was being offered free support and advice fromimmigration lawyer Mike McMellon, defence lawyers Steven Zindel and MarkDollimore, community leader Sonny Alesana and Zindel's wife Barbara Howard, whoall said she was an asset to Nelson and would fight for her to stay.
Ruansook and her husband Bun My Ching, faced a jury trialand were sentenced and convicted for filing false GST and income tax returns asthey did not declare their cash sales through the Golden Bell business.
They were each given six months' home detention, and 120hours' community service.
The offending was over six years, and the IRD found they didnot pay $47,000 in GST and $119,000 in income tax. They had sold Golden Bell topay back what was owed.
They have two children, both New Zealand citizens. Mike, 7goes to school in Nelson and Mya 4, who was sent to live with her grandparentsin Thailand while Ruansook and her husband went through the investigation.
The parents planned to bring Mya back to New Zealand in timeto start school next year.
Ruansook said she was dedicated to providing a good life forher children in New Zealand, and believed she had fixed her mistakes by payingback owed taxes to the IRD, and complying with her sentence of home detentionand community service.
She went to Thailand while on bail in March this year for afuneral and to see her daughter, and came back to face her trial.
"After that my dad did not talk to me at all when I wasin Thailand because he doesn't want me to go back to New Zealand," shesaid through tears.
"I didn't know they were going to deport me. I have twokids I didn't run away, I come back to show my head up to be here, to bestrong."
She said "the past is the past" when it came tothe trial and the sentence she was given.
"I've already gone to the court and paid money, I dideverything to be with kids, why you want to break my heart again?"
"If they deport me I can't leave my kid here, I have alot of friends but how can I come back to visit my son, and who is going tomake sure he is safe?"
Ruansook has a wide reach across Nelson in helping outschools and community groups, from volunteering at a gala, to teaching childrento cook and offering donations to her local Buddhist temple. She often gaveaway food and money to those in need.
If she is deported, Mike will have to go with her, whereasher husband, who has New Zealand citizenship, would stay.
Zindel and McMellon had written to Immigration New Zealandin support of Ruansook, and said they would be calling on more people to sendcharacter references in support of her staying, if Immigration tried to deporther.
McMellon hoped Immigration New Zealand would see the meritof the case but if they decided to proceed they would look to appeal thedecision.
"If Gail was deported and Mike had to go with her, thenthere would be two New Zealand citizens in Thailand so they would effectivelybe deported as well.
They would lose the privilege of what it would mean to growup in New Zealand, they wouldn't have the benefit of a New Zealand educationand our health system, as Gail said they would be a lot less safe than if theywere brought up here."
Zindel and his wife Barbara Howard said Ruansook was"well loved" through Nelson.
"She has impossible generosity, some cynics may say onour tax dollar, but she has paid that money back. She is just amazinglynon-materialistic herself, and gives all the time," Zindel said.
"She works six days a week, solidly all the time, Ihave immense respect for her work ethic and dedication."
Community leader Sonny Alesana, who has known Ruansook forabout eight years, also spoke of her generosity towards community groups.
"She supported our Kapa Haka group, a lot of ourmembers frequent the restaurant because of that."
She had also supported international students in Nelson,acting as a mother to them, and having them over for meals, he said.
"It's her pure generosity, we will always support Gailin whatever we can do to make sure she stays in the country not only for her,but also her children — she's good forour community."
Dollimore said Runasook had helped many people, includingsome of his clients "when they've been down on their luck".
The toldhim Gail had regularly given them free food and small amounts of money, alwayswithout being asked."
An Immigration New Zealand spokesperson said it wascurrently assessing whether Ruansook was liable for deportation.
"Liability depends on when the person was granted residence, the date of the offending and the sentence received or potentia lsentence the court could give."
If she was liable for deportation, she would have a right ofappeal on humanitarian grounds against deportation to the Immigration andProtection Tribunal, administered by the Ministry of Justice.
- Stuff(08/09/2015)
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