New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English says it is regretable that the US didn't waive immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question a diplomat (AFP Photo/MARTY MELVILLE)

A US diplomat has been expelled from New Zealand after Washington refused to waive diplomatic immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question him, officials said Monday. Local media reports said the diplomat was a technical attaché who left the country last week with a broken nose and black eye after an altercation in Lower Hutt, a Wellington suburb. A US diplomat has been forced to leave New Zealand over allegations he was involved in a serious criminal incident in which he had his nose broken and sustained a black eye.New Zealand police said they were called in the early hours of last Sunday in the community of Lower Hutt, just outside Wellington, where the US embassy is based. New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English labelled the US knockback on immunity regrettable and said he expects American authorities to carry out their own investigation. “We take seriously any suggestion that our staff have fallen short of the high standards of conduct expected of US government personnel.”

In a high-profile case in 2014, Malaysian diplomat Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail was forced to return to New Zealand to face criminal charges after he was accused of indecently assaulting a young woman in Wellington and defecating outside her front door.
New Zealand expels an unnamed United States diplomat after the embassy refused to waive his immunity during a police investigation.