Tamati Etu Matthew Patrick Pokaia

Tamati Etu Matthew Patrick Pokaia was the son of Thomas Pokaia and Dionne Pokaia. He had an older brother called Nathan, and a younger brother called Billy. In February 2000, Tamati was admitted to Waikato Hospital with serious head injuries (an old fracture of the skull) as a result of abuse. Two years before, his brother Nathan, then aged three years, had suffered a broken leg through non-accidental injury. Dionne admitted to hitting and kicking the children and to asking Thomas to kick them on her behalf. There was an extensive history of domestic violence in this family and the parents had been neglectful in seeking medical treatment for their children. The boys were dirty and neglected and the explanations offered regarding Tamati's injuries were inconsistent. The children were uplifted by CYF on 29 February 2000. In December 2000, Tamati accidentally fell into a swimming pool while visiting friends of his caregiver. There were conflicting accounts of the level of supervision and whether Tamati nearly drowned. On 17 November 2001, CYF placed Tamati and Billy into the care of Michael and Maata Waterhouse. It was the children's fourth foster home in less than two years. On 5 December 2001, Child, Youth and Family was given information that Maata Waterhouse was smacking Tamati to discipline him and using inappropriate time out periods. It was also indicated that Michael Waterhouse had said he had a preference to only care for the youngest child. On 29 April 2002, foster parent Michael Shane Hamahona Waterhouse became enraged with Tamati about a bag of popcorn he brought home from Huntly Early Childhood Centre. As punishment, he placed 3-year-old Tamati backwards over the arm of a lightly padded wooden chair and punched him hard four times in the stomach. Tamiti died two hours later at approximately 3.30pm. Michael Waterhouse was found guilty manslaughter. More information: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0312/S00135/cyf-findings-on-invol...