{"id":558528,"date":"2026-08-04T08:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T08:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558528\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T08:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T08:06:10","slug":"gasfitter-supervision-failure-aired-at-jesse-samuel-inquest-in-queenstown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558528\/","title":{"rendered":"Gasfitter supervision failure aired at Jesse Samuel inquest in Queenstown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat\u2019s why I thought it was fit for purpose,\u201d Walker told the inquest, which is being held in the Queenstown District Court.<\/p>\n

It was then installed at the holiday home by gasfitter Gary Hale.<\/a><\/p>\n

Walker said he was given no instruction about the operation of the unit by Hale or Cartwright.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first got the Bosch heater installed, we had issues with steam filling up the room quickly and occasionally the hot water cutting out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But they often used it during summer, so the window was kept open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had young kids to keep an eye on, so sometimes we also had the door ajar when showering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember noticing the stickers on the unit when sitting on the toilet,\u201d he said, referring to the safety and warning labels, which warned the appliance was not suitable for installation inside a bathroom and required adequate ventilation.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Bosch indoor hot water unit that was installed in the Haast bathroom. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

He said he couldn\u2019t recall reading them or what they said, but it \u201cwould have set alarm bells off for me if I did\u201d.<\/p>\n

The heater was damaged in 2017 after surrounding pipework froze during the winter.<\/p>\n

Cartwright ordered a new Rinnai unit and organised a plumber to install it.<\/p>\n

Walker said there was pressure to get the bathroom ready for an upcoming family holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s initially why I discussed with Mike about a Rinnai unit because it was an \u2018off the shelf\u2019, get it straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when the plumber arrived, he told Walker he didn\u2019t realise it was a \u201ccomplete replumb\u201d, that he wouldn\u2019t have time to do it, and suggested he buy the same Bosch unit that was previously in the bathroom; which he did.<\/p>\n

Jesse died one month later<\/a> while using the shower.<\/p>\n

\"JesseJesse Samuel’s was showering in the transportable bathroom when he died. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Cartwright told the inquest he certified the installation when he should not have and failed to supervise Hale appropriately.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not a day that goes by that I don\u2019t think about Jesse and what\u2019s happened,\u201d he told the inquest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply sorry for my role.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Central Plumbing Limited, which trades as Laser Plumbing Alexandra, and Cartwright pleaded guilty to charges laid under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006 in relation to Jesse\u2019s death. <\/p>\n

They were ordered to pay $70,000 to the family, while Cartwright was fined $19,250 and his company was fined $104,500.<\/p>\n

Cartwright told the inquest Hale had installed the Bosch unit before he knew about it.<\/p>\n

Cartwright admitted he did not inspect it before issuing the compliance certificate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he was not aware Walker had bought and installed another Bosch unit and told the inquest the photos of the heater he was shown after Jesse\u2019s death \u201cdid not reflect what I believe was in place during the renovation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cartwright said he would like to see audits in the industry. He said that during his training only 20 to 25% of it was spent learning about gasfitting.<\/p>\n

The industry tends to tell workers they need to do something, but doesn\u2019t show them how to do it, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love someone to come and audit our systems,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Hale died in 2022. Cartwright told the inquest Jesse\u2019s death effectively ended Hale\u2019s plumbing career. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt really affected him and he was very remorseful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The inquest, before Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale, continues until August 7, with representatives from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Bosch, and gasfitting experts expected to give evidence.<\/p>\n

Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 and has had a strong interest in business and financial journalism.<\/p>\n

Join NZ Herald\u2019s Open Justice team for Case by Case<\/a>, a video and podcast series examining the disputes and decisions making headlines across New Zealand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThat\u2019s why I thought it was fit for purpose,\u201d Walker told the inquest, which is being held in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[59745,1975,138,42343,210531,78,13999,2537,111,139,69,20930,55536,21416],"class_list":["post-558528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-aired","tag-at","tag-business","tag-failure","tag-gasfitter","tag-in","tag-inquest","tag-jesse","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-queenstown","tag-samuel","tag-supervision"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}