A former Carter Holt Harvey executive faces fines of more than $1 million after yesterday admitting 17 breaches of the Fair Trading Act in the Auckland District Court.
Maurice Reid pleaded guilty to the charges which each carry a maximum fine of $60,000, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. He will appear for sentencing on the fine-only matters next month.
Carter Holt was fined $900,000 last October after the Commerce Commission launched an investigation into whether the company's Laserframe branded timber marketed as meeting an MGP10 standard was as strong as advertised.
The timber was found to be under strength. Documents seized by the Commission showed the company knew about the problem since 2001.
Reid retired from Carter Holt in 2003 and is a former general manager of the company's wood products division and former chief executive of its timber and plywood business Ecopine.
Carter Holt is now wholly owned by New Zealand's richest man, Graeme Hart.
The weaker than advertised structural timber is expected to result in floors squeaking and roof lines deflecting.
The prosecution is one of the most serious cases taken by the Commerce Commission under the Fair Trading Act.
