By NICOLA BOYES
A Hamilton burglar is one of 941 inmates who the Government wrongly paid a total of $1.63 million in benefits while serving time in prison.

Derek James Burns, 33, was paid $11,896 in benefits by Work and Income New Zealand (Winz) during a prison sentence. The Government is now looking to recover the money from him and 940 other prisoners.

But it will have to wait until each prisoner is released and earning again and it may take years as the money is drip-fed in amounts as low as $10 per week.

Social Development Ministry benefit control manager Joan McQuay admitted there was a glitch in a joint computer system with the Corrections Department last year.

Ms McQuay said Corrections normally provided the ministry with names of new inmates so they could have their benefits stopped.

But Corrections installed a new data-matching computer that didn't work, Ms McQuay said.

It wasn't until the ministry noticed a reduction in the number of names coming off the list that the problem was identified.

"The glitch meant Mr Burns' name was not passed on to the Social Development Ministry and his benefit continued while he was in prison."

Burns returned to prison last week after he was sentenced in the Hamilton District Court to two years and 10 months in prison for multiple burglary charges.

At his sentencing, Winz lawyer Annabel Cresswell said Burns had organised with the department to pay the money he owed back in weekly instalments.

His repayments would not start until he finished his present sentence.

Ms Cresswell said Burns had accessed his benefit money by using bank cheques while in prison during a previous sentence.

A spokesman for the Corrections Department said it had a data system which was used to notify Winz about new inmates but ultimately it was up to Winz to control payments to its clients.

He said prisoners were not meant to receive any type of benefits while in jail.

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-- Anonymous, May 26, 2002