Wellington  - Phillip Field, 57, the first New Zealand member of parliament to be charged with bribery and corruption, was sent to prison for six years on Tuesday after being found guilty on 26 criminal charges by a jury in August.

Field, who was in parliament from 1993 until defeated at November's general election, was convicted of 11 charges of bribery and corruption and 15 charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice during an inquiry by a government-appointed attorney into his actions in 2005.

A Samoan New Zealander with the chiefly title taito, Field was convicted of giving immigration assistance to a number of Thai citizens in return for work they did on seven houses he owned in New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga for little or no pay between November 2002 and October 2005.

Judge Rodney Hansen said Field's conduct was intolerable in New Zealand society and threatened the institution at the foundation of democracy and justice.

Lockwood Smith, the speaker of the House of Representatives whose questioning of Field's actions led to the charges being filed, said the case "demonstrates that all members of parliament are accountable for their actions and that none of us are above the law."

Field was jailed for four years on the bribery and corruption charges and an additional two years for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The judge said the sentence would have been longer but he gave Field credit for his previous good record of work within the community, the disgrace and humiliation he had endured and the financial cost to him.

Elected as a Labour member of parliament in 1993, Field was expelled by the party in 2007 but continued to represent his Mangere, Auckland, constituency as an independent before being defeated at last year's general election.

On behalf of the Labour Party, deputy leader Annette King issued a statement saying, "This sentence demonstrates that all New Zealanders are equal under the law.

"Taito Phillip Field has been judged by his peers. He must now serve the sentence handed down in the Auckland High Court." (dpa)