THEFTS ADMITTED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 146, 22 June 1945, Page 6

THEFTS ADMITTED

SEVEN RAILWAY EMPLOYEES

ARTICLES TAKEN FROM KITS TAUMARUNUI, Thursday. Seven Taumarunui railway employees were charged before Mr. A. Coleman, S.M., with offences connected with a series of thefts from the railway station. The articles stolen included cigarettes, razor blades, chewing gum and parachute silk.

The accused were Francis Douglas Adams, Thomas Charles Fletcher, Tai Wirihana, Joshua Wallace and Thomas Norton, charged with receiving and theft; Arthur Frederick Bloomfield, Hugh Hamilton Harrison, receiving. All the accused pleaded guilty. Counsel in each case mado the plea that owing to the shortage of men there were no mature men in charge of the parcels office at the railway station and only youths were employed in authority. During the period of their employment they had handled large sums of money and goods and nothing had been stolen except cigarettes and a few articles found in cigarette cartons when opened. It was stated that the accused thought that they were taking cigarettes that had been smuggled into the country by servicemen and might belong to anyone. The thefts had all been made from servicemen's kits. Detective - Sergeant Murray said that Adams and Fletcher were youths of 19. Their duty was to look after the parcels office. Wallace was a casual labourer, aged 34, married, with a family; Norton was a casual labourer, aged 27, married, with two children; Harrison was aged 44, married, with an adult family; Bloomfield, aged 34, was married, without family; Wirihana, aged 33, was married, with a family. Wirihana, against whom there were six charges, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on one charge and to two months' imprisonment on each of the other charges, the sentences to be concurrent; Wallace, two months' imprisonment on each of three charges, the sentences tc be concurrent; Norton, one month on each of two charges, the sentences to be concurrent. Bloomfield was fined £7 and Harrison £12. Adams and Fletcher were each admitted to probation for two years and ordered to pay the value of property stolen, Adams £12 16/ and Fletcher £29 17/6.