POISON IN BREAKFAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 45, 23 February 1931, Page 3

POISON IN BREAKFAST.

"INTENTIONALLY PUT IN."'

MATf SENT TO GAOL.

"FOBTEN'ATE," DECLARES JUDG£

The maximum penalty allowed by lr*" was imposed on Edward Charles Walsh, 02, who appeared for sentence before Mr. Justice Herclman in the Auckland Supreme Court to-day on a charge of administering poison with intent to injure. Walsh was committed from Td Awamutu. His Honor, in passing sentence, said: "You may consider yourself fortunate that you are not in the dock to-day standing trial on a much more serious charge. It appears you took poison from some building on the property on which you were employed, and, because of your feelings towards your employer, you put it in his breakfast. Fortunately you did not put enough in to kill him. You pleaded guilty to intentionally putting this pokon in for the purpose of injuring him, but it appears from the deposition .there is nothing to warrant coming to the conclusion that his life was in danger or that he was caused any grievous bodily harm." Therefore, concluded his Honor, the prisoner miicst be dealt with under the section of the Act which limited the maximum penalty to three years. Had the man's life been endangered the punishment would have been much heavier. »Walsh had been before the Court on ! many occasions and had been declared an habitual criminal.