FORGED CHEQUE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 183, 4 August 1932, Page 8

FORGED CHEQUE.

PRESSED FOR MONEY. YOUNG CLERK'S ADMISSION. ATTESTED AFTER TEN MONTHS. Arrested recently by the Hamilton police, almost a year after he left his Government position in Auckland following the cashing of a forged cheque, George Alfred Pitt, aged 19, a clerk, appeared at, the Police Court before Mr. W. R. McK'ean, S.M., this morning.

He was charged'/with forging a cheque drawn on the Bank of New Zealand for £2 0/4 on .September 21,1931, by altering the figures and words, and with uttering the cheque.

Fairley Clark Stewart, accounts clerk in the Public Works Department at Auckland, said that on September 21, 1931, accused, who worked in the same office, brought him a cheque for £2 0/4 to sign. After signing the cheque, witness banded it to Pitt to take to the bank and cash. The bank statement (produced) showed that the cheque had been cashed for £;">0 0/4 instead of £2 0/4. Tlie figure two was altered to a five and a nought placed after the figure live, while the words had been altered to "fifty." After checking the cheques received from bank and finding the alterations in the cheque, witness went through the accounts and found that the additions had been altered so as to enable the accounts to balance. The totals at the end of the month showed a shortage of £48.

Detective-Sergeant J. Martin said that ! on. October 1, 1031, ho laid an information and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Pitt on a charge of theft of £ 50. About that time, Pitt disappeared from Auckland, and the first witness knew of him again was on July 22 last, when he was arrested by the Hamilton police. Pitt made a statement to the Hamilton police, and a detective found the forged cheque in his possession. On Monday last, Pitt was shown the cheque and the statement in Mount Eden Prison. Ho then admitted making and signing the statement. Accused's Admissions. . In- his statement, Pitt said ho was living at Nelson when ho received notice of his transfer'to the Auckland office of the Public Works Department in February, 1931. While at Nelson he had bought a motor cycle on the timo payment system. Before leaving Nelson to come to Auckland, he borrowed.£lo, as he was hard up. He wanted the £10 to pay his travelling expenses to Auckland and also to buy new clothes. At that time he owed altogether about £50. He rode his motor cycle from Wellington to Auckland. He understood that the Department would pay his expenses, but on arrival at Auckland he discovered that this was not so. When he arrived at Auckland he was penniless. He stayed at a city hotel for some weeks, his board costing him £1 10/ weekly. Later he was pressed for payments due on the motor cycle. The agent declined to take tho cycle back unless accused paid £7 10/. "I took this money from the Public Works Department's trust' account, of which I had charge," continued Pitt in the statement. "Two months later I found that I could not exist on my income and I unsuccessfully endeavoured to raise a loan from Auckland loan firms."

Pitt admitted forging the cheque, and added that of the money received by the forgery ho repaid £23 to the Public Works Department which he had "bor-> rowed," paid £11 in sundry debts and kept £14 until September 30, when he cleared out of Auckland.

Accused pleaded guilty to both charges and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.