"VERY LENIENT."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 58, 10 March 1927, Page 9

"VERY LENIENT."

ATTEMPTED MURDER CASE. JUDGE'S COMMENT ON VERDICT. DISPUTE OVER A WOMAN. (By TelesrapJj.—Props Association.) mSBOKNE, Wednesday. On a cnarge of attempting to murder Thomas Alfred Joyce, by discharging at him a shotgun, Noema Kaiwai appeared in the Supreme Court to-day before Mr. .Justice Ostler. Kaiwai was alternatively charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and with assault with intent to cause bodily harm. Aecuscd pleaded not guilty. Evidence showed that the case, arose out of a Maori woman's relations with the two men at Kuatoria. near the Waiapu River. The woman had lived first with Kaiwai and then with Joyce. She then returned to Kaiwai. Joyce had gained possession of a ring from the woman and Kaiwai demanded its return. Joyce refused, and Kaiwai secured a gun and fired at Joyce, who received some pellets in his shoulder. Accused fired again and missed, and Joyce closed with him, wresting the gun from him. He later delivered the gun to the police. After a 15 minutes' retirement the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the third count, thnt of n -auk with intent to cause bodily harm. In imposing sentence oi one year's imprisonment the judge said to' prisoner: "I consider you very lucky in that you were not here to answer a charge of murder. The jurv has been lenient with you. 1 think if*l had been judging the case I would not nave been so merciful. I have to presume you did not intend to kill or injure the man but merely to frighten him."