ACC buys new ear for mauled burglar

Prisoner savaged by police dog says he is 'a victim' too

ACC has agreed to pay for a serial burglar to have a new left ear constructed in a rare and complex series of operations after his was bitten off by a police dog.

The surgery is estimated to cost around $20,000 and Casey Voges, 29, is planning legal action to force authorities to let him have the procedure in prison.

Voges said a specialist consultation found him suitable for the surgery provided he was not in prison.

He conceded it was probably unfair that the taxpayer would be paying for his surgery but believed the dog attack was an assault and warranted compensation.

"Yeah, it's taxpayers' money going toward it. I don't know what I could say to them maybe just, sorry guys.

"It's hard without sounding impersonal, but the system is constructed that way and if I could change it I would. If I could afford to pay for it myself I would.

"I'm a victim as well and here victims are compensated. I've paid for my crimes."

Voges is in Auckland Central Remand Prison facing 10 charges of burglary, one of theft and another of unlawful access to an enclosed yard.

He has spent 12 years of his life behind bars in Australia and New Zealand for burglary and drug use but Voges told the Sunday Star-Times he wants to turn around his life.

And to help he needs the new ear his was bitten off by a police dog during an arrest in February 2005.

"I was fleeing the scene... I was being a little bastard," he said.

Police said though Voges was unarmed he resisted arrest and the dog attacked instinctively.

ACC spokesman Laurie Edwards said the corporation can apply to courts to decline an application where the injury was sustained in a crime and it would be repugnant to the public.

While the procedure could be described as cosmetic, Edwards said, it may also improve Voges' hearing by better channelling sounds.

"Essentially we won't make those clinical decisions, we will go with what the specialists say. Generally, if it's an accident we'll pay for it."

He said while prisoners were entitled to ACC-funded medical treatment, they were not eligible for financial compensation.

Cartilage would be harvested from Voges' ribs and carved to match a mould of the existing ear. An inflatable "balloon" would then inserted into the neck to stretch the skin enough to accommodate the cartilaginous frame, which is implanted at the entrance to the ear.

While Voges is apologetic for the spate of crimes saying they were committed to fund care for his teenage sister he expects to spend the next four years in prison.

"I really want to use this time to work on my education and better myself. Yeah, getting this [his ear] fixed will help in as much as I won't get to see it every day. Every day I won't be reminded of my failures."

Plastic surgeons told the Star-Times the treatment of criminals often sparked heated public debate.

Surgeon John de Waal said: "It raises questions as to whether the country wants to pay for people, who in the course of a criminal act or being arrested, are seriously injured."

Voges appears in North Shore District Court later this month and is expected to enter guilty pleas.

- © Fairfax NZ News