'No miscarriage' in Jhia conviction

Mongrel Mob member Karl Check, instigator of the 2007 fatal drive-by shooting of Wanganui toddler Jhia Te Tuaa, has had his appeal thrown out by the Court of Appeal.

Check's bid to have his conviction overturned and his challenge against the length of his minimum jail term were dismissed today.

The court found there had been no miscarriage in Check's conviction.

It also said there was no basis for arguing against the 15 years minimum non-parole term.

Check sought a reduction to 12-1/2 years.

At his trial, Check was found to be the instigator in the incident that lead to the death of the two-year-old girl.

Shots were fired into the house where the child lived and she was hit and killed as she lay on a couch.

The target was the girl's father, a Black Power member.

Check was jailed in February this year.

He was back in the headlines last month when his two-year-old son Karl Richard Arc Perigo-Check suffered severe internal injuries and died in Wanganui Hospital.

Police said the child's death was not gang-related.

Rikki Ngatai-Check, 22, has been charged with the boy's murder while the child's mother, Lilah Terelyn McGregor, 30, faces charges of assaulting her son and perverting the course of justice.

The pair are in custody.

- NZPA