BIRTHS CONCEALED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 259, 19 August 1950, Page 2

BIRTHS CONCEALED

FINES IMPOSED BY COURT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Aug. 17. The conditions in which the prisoners had been living had contributed to the crimes, which had probably been more a matter of ignorance than intent, Mr Justice Stanton said to-day, when sentencing Wetere Tumohe, aged 58, a farmer, and his son, Kanawa Tumohe, known as Dooley Tumohe, a farm hand. Both had pleaded guilty to a charge of concealing the birth of two babies. Kanawa Tumohe also appeared for sentence on a charge of incest. On the joint charge, Wetere Tumohe was fined £lO, and Kanawa Tumohe was convicted and discharged. For incest, Kanawa Tumohe was fined £lO. His Honour said he regarded Wetere Tumohe as primarily responsible for “these unfortunate happenings.” He added that the incest arose out of Kanawa Tumohe and his sister sharing the same quarters. Referring to the concealment of birth, his Honour told Wetere Tumohe: “You, as the old man, should have realised the responsibility that rested upon you, and seen that proper steps were taken.”