Phil Rudd charged with making phone threat

According to New Zealand prosecutors, the charges faced by former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd relate to an alleged threat to kill a man and his daughter.

The details of the allegations have been made public for the first time, a day after Phil Rudd breached his bail by having contact with a witness.

Phil Rudd, 60, has denied threatening to kill and drug possession.

He was originally also charged with attempting to procure murder, but this was later dropped for lack of evidence.

New Zealand prosecutors on December 5 released details of their allegations against him, stating that on the morning of September 26, Phil Rudd had made two phone calls.

The first was to a business associate where he allegedly “spoke about what he wanted done to” the unnamed man, who had been working for him for three years.

The second phone call was to the man himself, in which Phil Rudd allegedly “threatened to kill him and his daughter”.

On November 6, police searched Phil Rudd’s home in Tauranga and found 130g (4.6 ounces) of marijuana and 0.7g of methamphetamine.

Phil Rudd acknowledged possessing the marijuana, prosecutors allege, but denied both threatening to kill the contractor and making the phone calls.

He could be jailed up to seven years if found guilty of threatening to kill. Possession of cannabis carries a sentence of three months and methamphetamine possession six months.

On December 4, Phil Rudd was recalled to Tauranga District Court after he was found to have breached his bail conditions by coming into contact with a prosecution witness. The encounter ended in scuffles.

Phil Rudd’s lawyer said he had run into the witness at a coffee shop in a shopping centre by chance.

The drummer was re-released on bail but the conditions were tightened to specifically include a ban on taking illegal drugs.