V.D. CASES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 198, 22 August 1942, Page 7

V.D. CASES

TREATMENT OF DEFAULTERS

TWO GIRLS BEFORE COURT

These are the first cases brought under the new Disease Regulations, and I am glad to see that the Health Department is enforcing the provisions of the regulations," said Mr. J. Luxford, S.M., in the Police Court when two girls were charged tnat, while undergoing treatment for venereal disease, they failed to submit themselves for treatment "as directed.

In the case of one girl it was stated by the police that she had been admitted to the Auckland Hospital for special treatment but was later discharged on condition that she reported every Friday for further treatment. The girl had already been a defaulter from the Wellington Hospital.

Appearing for defendant, Mr George Skelton said his client had been m hospital for four months, during which she underwent a serious operation. Her failure to attend the clinic was the result of fear, as the injections she had been given had caused her to faint. She had no intention of avoiding treatment. Mr. Luxford said that persons who became infected, either through their own fault or by some means beyond their control, must attend for treatment. "If persons deliberately refuse, then there is only one thing to be done—they will be put in confinement for a period to punish them for their disobedience and also for treatment," Mr. Luxford continued. "There's to be no letting up." The magistrate convicted and ordered the girl to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months, and stated that she would not be called upon provided she attended the clinic for treatment as directed.

Another girl who was similarly charged was dealt with in the same manner.

The magistrate suggested that the Press should not publish the names of the two girls. He considered that non-publication would be an incentive to persons to report for treatment.