New Zealand has deported three Tongan nations whose past criminal records were erased by Tongan police.  A fourth person has left New Zealand voluntarily.  Australia canceled three Visas belonging to Tongans in the same situation.

Tongan Police Commissioner Grant O'Fee says 15 past and present cops wiped criminal records clean for some Tongans who were trying to get Visas to Oz, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

“The most concerning issue is the damage this has done for Tonga's reputation in which an official document with the police letterhead was sent telling a lie to gain access to another country,” O’Fee said.  He added the investigation might involve punishing the officers involved.

Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) says it identified at least 14 people who should not have current valid permanent visas because of their true criminal pasts.

New Zealand’s General Manager of Immigration Stephen Dunstan says his problem is even worse:  More among 52 Tongan nationals with wrongly-wiped convictions are believed to be in New Zealand.