53 year old Kaikoura man, who was recently filmed indulging in manual labor while also claiming Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) payments for an injury in the back, has managed to escape a prison sentence.

On Friday, Michael James Gibson appeared in front of the authorities at the Kaikoura District Court, and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. The accused was the main subject of an ACC probe which had run for very long, which involved a video footage of him "lifting boulders, cutting hedges and launching his boat".

The accused then pleaded guilty of six charges of feeding ACC statements which he knew were false, all the while receiving payments and entitlements. Each of the charges carried either a fine of $5000, or a minimum of three months of jail time.

"This is not a case where a person is not demonstrably entitled to a benefit. Because he remains entitled it is hard for ACC to quantify an amount, therefore the only inference the court can draw is that on the face of it, Mr. Gibson has been entitled to the funds", said Gibson's lawyer, Paul McMenamie.

Somewhat pleased with the sentence, Sue North, Business Manager Operations, said, "Any sort of fraud against ACC is theft against every New Zealand levy-payer, and such actions will not be tolerated. We will continue to investigate all allegations".