He's likely to face a judge-alone trial with no jury. Judge Tom Ingram ruled that a decision will be made in February. The media were ordered not to report details of the case.

Rudd, 60, was arrested last month and originally charged with procuring a murder before the accusation was dropped less than 24 hours later. He appeared at Tauranga High Court last week for a short but dramatic hearing, at which the case was sent down to a lower court since the most serious charge had been removed.