THEFT BY CASHIER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 232, 1 October 1925, Page 12

THEFT BY CASHIER.

LARGE SUM DISAPPEARS. ' t FIVE YEARS' PROBATION. (By Telegraph.— Press Association.) OAMARU, Wednesday. i The Court was unusually crowded this ' morning, when Albert Andrew Hunter ' Searle, 22 years of age, a clerk in the:. employ of the Union Steamship Com- I pany, was charged with stealing £20 I 17/9, the property of the company. There were 28 other charges that on various dates he stole sums involving a total amount of £161. Mr. 11. W. Bundle, S.M., occupied the Bench, and Mr. F. W. Ongley appeared for accused, who pleaded guilty. All the charges were admitted.

Senior-Sergeant Shanaban said accused bad been cashier in the company's oflice. He was a trusted officer, and the manager bad left him in charge. It was not until August 29 that the manager noticed anything was wrong. That afternoon he had looked through the books and found errors. He mentioned to Searle that the books were not right and Searle spoke of rectifying them. Ho disappeared from Oamaru that afternoon, went to Invercargill, and later to Queenstown, where he worked under tbe name of Hunter. The books disclosed a sum approaching £300 as missing. What be had done with the money was a vuvstery.

Searle said that he had been unable to keep the books properly, and said he ' could not say what had been done with the money. He denied that he indulged j in drinking and horse racing. The magistrate said he would like to I know what Searle had done with the money in order to decide how to deal I with him, but being unable to obtain

any further satisfaction from Searle, sentenced him to probation for five years. He ordered him to make restitution of half the total sum involved, expressing the opinion that the company deserved to lose the other half. j