Wellington councillor hits back at cop criticism
Saturday, 4 July 2026
Under-fire Wellington City councillor Ray Chung is hitting back at senior police as the kerfuffle about his involvement in a search during a weather-related state of emergency grows stranger.
The stoush goes back to April when torrential rain and flooding hit Wellington and, in the western suburb of Karori, a search was under way for Philip Sutton, who was later found dead after seemingly being swept away in flood waters.
Chung, whose ward covers Karori, was involved in the events around the search but, in a long text message to The Post on Friday, his view of what happened contradicts the police version.
Information released by the Wellington City Council this week shows Wellington City area commander Inspector Dean Silvester text messaged mayor Andrew Little during the search to complain about Chung.
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“I’ve been advised that councillor Chung made a nuisance of himself in relation to the search and rescue efforts in Karori,” Silvester wrote. “This has included the spreading of misinformation and inappropriate contact with emergency services and the missing person[’s] family.”
Chung, in response to The Post, said: “Silvester said I was interfering with a police operation, what operation? They were having a ‘planning day!’ He said I was spreading ‘misinformation!’ What misinformation and to whom?”
Little’s notes after talking to Silvester were also this week released.
They show Silvester was concerned about how Chung got the confidential phone number of a police sergeant, that Chung did not tell the sergeant what his role was, that he was told not to travel to an address and it only became clear later on that Chung was was not in contact with Sutton’s family.
Chung told The Post: “He said I was using a secret number to call Steve, the search coordinator. I was obviously given the number, where did he think I got it from?
“[Steve] said to get the volunteers to call him so he can coordinate them. How were they going to do this without his number? Smoke signals?
“He said I was ordered to leave the area! By whom and when? There were no police at Karori, the only people there were the Fulton Hogan guys, Bill Hickman, the Radio NZ guy, and the TV3 people.
“Silvester said I didn’t identify myself as a councillor, how far fetched is that? If I didn’t, then why would Steve tell me what he was doing and spend so long on these calls?
“When I told him about the volunteers wanting to help, he said he can’t stop them but would prefer them to call him. Again, how? If I didn’t give it to them!,” Chung said.
“You [The Post] state that I was there to search for Phillip! I’ve consistently said that I wasn’t but you […] continue to insist this! Silvester said that I was annoying Phillip’s family, so was he just making this up?”
Chung has not answered multiple calls from The Post about the information release.
The Post previously reported Chung saying he had gone to the scene of the search to request volunteers to stand down. Police were approached for comment, but a spokesperson said they had nothing further to add.