CASE OF ASSAULT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 67, 30 December 1946, Page 5

CASE OF ASSAULT

NATIVE SENTENCED INCIDENT AT BOOKING OFFICE In the Whakatane Court last Monday, a Maori, Ken - Biddle, faced two charges of assault and using obscene language in a public place. Messrs. L. 11. Brown and J. King, J.P.s, were on the Bench. Accused pleaded guilty to both counts.

Replying to a formal query from the Bench, accused stated that he had attended a native school at. Maungapohata, but had only reached. Standard 2. As he did not appear to thoroughly understand English, it was deemed advisable that an interpreter be called in. As the services of a regular interpreter could not be obtained immediately, a native prisoner already serving a sentence in the Whakatane gaol was called in, and an ‘impasse’ was thus overcome in a rather unique manner. Sergeant Farrell stated that on December 21st at 7 p.m. a dispute, in which accused figured, had arisen at the Railway Road Services booking office in Whakatane. Accused held a ticket, but was unable to secure a seat on a bus in which he wished to travel home to Waimana. He had gone to see the officer in charge who endeavoured to explain the situation to him, but accused was not satisfied, and used obscene language in front of a number of other people including bus passengers. He had then questioned the driver of the bus and had assaulted him by taking hold of him by the neck. Accused was under the influence of liquor, but was not actually drunk. He was a first offender and had served overseas. The Road- Services took a serious view of the incident.

Asked if he had anything to say, accused intimated through the interpreter that he would appreciate it if the Bench could see its way clear to allow him to spend Christmas at home. It was his first Christmas here since his return from overseas. Sentence of 21 days’ imprisonment on each charge, the terms to be concurrent was imposed. A request for suppression was refused, the Bench observing that the publication of a name in the press was part of the penalty connected with such an offence.