• 77 year old prisoner Dean Wickliffe has told his lawyer he’s lost 17kgs during a nine-day hunger strike at Springhill Prison.
• His lawyer Annette Sykes says whānau are concerned about his physical and mental health.
• Corrections told the Herald there has been no change in his status and they are continuing to monitor his health.

Lifetime criminal Dean Wickliffe has told his lawyer he’s lost 17kg in eight days of his hunger strike in Springhill Prison.

A Corrections spokesperson told the Herald “the prisoner continues to drink liquids but is declining to eat food.

“Our health and custodial staff continue to support him and encourage him to resume eating. Because of our legal obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code, we are unable to comment further on a prisoner’s health status or any other private information, including their weight.”

Wickliffe is due to appear before the parole board on April 3 - but is telling his lawyer and visitors he won’t eat until he is released.

“Dean has lost 17kg since his hunger strike. We have mana whenua going in [to visit him] today ... to encourage him to eat,” his lawyer Annette Sykes says.

Wickliffe was arrested on March 5 for breaching his parole by living in his car – and not the address in his parole conditions.

He was taken to Springhill Corrections Facility on March 6, where an alleged altercation took place.

Dean Wickliffe in 2021. He was recently sentenced in the Tauranga District Court for a parole breach, which led to a recall to prison. Photo / File

Corrections is investigating Wickliffe’s claims that he was beaten up by a prison guard, Kym Grierson, Acting Commissioner Custodial Services confirmed on Tuesday.

“A prisoner allegedly refused a request to enter his cell and, after throwing an item, took a fighting stance towards staff,” Grierson said.

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“Following this, staff intervened and the prisoner sustained injuries while being restrained. He received medical treatment from prison health staff and was taken to hospital Thursday evening. He returned to the prison early the following morning.

“One staff member involved in the incident is not currently at work” Grierson said on Tuesday.

Corrections confirmed today the staff member remains off work.

Sykes said she is preparing a formal complaint. “I understand the guard responsible has been stood down and an internal investigation will be carried out. We will make a complaint. A big one.”

Wickliffe started his hunger strike on March 10, claiming his right to a lawyer was being denied. He now says he will continue striking until he is released from prison.

Wickliffe has a long criminal history. He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice, in 1976 and 1991 and before being paroled in 2018 was the country’s longest-serving inmate.

Relative and Māori activist Tame Iti is visiting Springhill today in an effort to convince Wickliffe to abandon his hunger strike. “I am an old friend and whanaunga from Ngati Whakaue,” he told the Herald.

“I’m going to tell him ‘bro, you don’t have to starve yourself to death to prove a point. Dean has a lot of support.”

Tame Iti was welcomed onto Waitangi this morning. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Wickliffe also had a video call with Sykes today, and was visited by Green MP Steve Abel.

“Dean Wickliffe said he will not end his hunger strike until he is released from Springhill,” Abel told the Herald.

“His skin looks jaundiced and he’s just bones. He said when got to prison he was 60kg. When I gave him a hug before I left I could see he had lost a lot of weight. He said he was losing over a kilo a day and he’s only drinking water but is being monitored.

“There are petitions being prepared to get him out on compassionate grounds” he said.