FALSE ALARMS OF FIRE.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20905, 12 July 1933, Page 13

FALSE ALARMS OF FIRE.

SENTENCES ON A YOUTH. MAGISTRATE COMMENDED. The case in which a youth was before the Magistrate's Court recently on several charges of having given malicious false alarms of fire was referred to in the report of Superintendent C.C.Warner submitted to the meeting of the Christchurch Fire Board last night. The report stated: "Nine malicious false alarms were given between the hours of 6.23 p.m. on June 6, and 5.44 a.m. on June 9, by Francis Walderma Malaquin, aged 17, who was eventually caught at the box at the corner of Petrie and Randall streets by two members of the brigade and was handed over to the police for examination. He was brought before Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., and fined £5 on the first charge, in default one month's imprisonment, was convicted on the second charge and ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon, and on the other counts was convicted and discharged. I was in attendance' at the court, and I take this opportunity in complimenting Senior-Ser-geant Fox for the very able and fair manner in which he conducted the prosecution. It was undoubtedly a very difficult problem to know what was best for the boy so to mete out justice commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, and the presiding magistrate must be commended for the way in which lie dealt with the case from all viewpoints." Mr K. W. Robinson asked if members thought that the magistrate won Id like the final sentence. The chairman (Mr T. M. Charters) said that wobabJv he would Ukn to be complimented. The report was adopted: