CHEMIST'S MISTAKE.
Gave Drachms Instead of Ounces of Paraldehyde. DEATHS OF TWO BROTHERS. (Received 9.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, this day. At. the quarter sessions Walter Peck, chemist and dispenser, of the Burwood Friendly Societies' dispensary, was acquitted of the manslaughter of two brothers, James Edward Cobban, aged 13, and James Cobban, aged 13. The jury returned its verdict of not guilty without hearing counsels' addresses or the judge's summing-up.
The two boys died in a private hospital in Burwood on May 10 and May 11 respectively. The verdict at the inquest was that the deaths were due to the effects of a deadly drug known as paraldehyde, administered to an excessive amount.
The evidence at the trial disclosed that Peck dispensed drachms instead of ounces.
Peck admitted he made a mistake in reading the doctor's prescription. He told the jury he would regret it all his life. He deeply deplored the boys' death and their parents' anguish.
Accused attributed his mistake to worry and fear of a recurrence of cancer in the throat from which he had supposedly been cured.
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Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 177, 29 July 1938, Page 7
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179CHEMIST'S MISTAKE. Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 177, 29 July 1938, Page 7
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