COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21940, 14 November 1936, Page 11

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

FIVE CHARGES OF FALSE PRETENCES DETECTIVE?? EVIDENCE OF INTERVIEWS (rasas issocxatio* txlsosah.) WELLINGTON, November 13. The charges of false pretences in the conduct of a competition lor which a motor-car was offered as a prize were continued in the Magistrate’s Court against Harold Fairchild Pobar, an. agent, Bertram Egley, a company secretary, and Hannath Noel Blake Marshall, a company director. Five charges were made against them jointly. Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., was on the bench. The principal charge was that, between July 16, 1935, and March 31, 1936, the defendants conspired with each other in Wellington and other places to defraud such persons as should be induced to purchase tickets in a test of skill competition by falsely representing that a car was available as a prize without disclosing that the car was subject to an instrument by way of security securing the principal, a sum of £450, and by falsely representing that the car was new and being kent sealed. There were four other charges, that the defendants by the same false pretences obtained from John Leith Is, from John Johnston Henderson 8d on two occasions, and from Henry Gastein sums totalling £l. The final witness; Detective Murray, gave evidence of the seizure of documents. He approached all the accused on various occasions. After some difficulty he managed to see Pobar at his home. Pobar said he was making no statement, and would answer no questions, on the advice of a solicitor, He also said that he was not prepared to disclose the whereabouts of the competitors’ butts. Later he said that after consultation with his solicitor he would haqd over the books and accounts, and did so. He would not, however, hand over any other papers, or disclose where the butts were. Witness said he saw Marshall on many occasions, but he had difficulty in obtaining any information from him. Marshall mentioned that he had seized the prize car in New Plymouth in October from Blake. He would not supply a statement of the financial dealings between himself and his company, and Pobar and Blake. Neither would he discuss the correspondence witness had seized. Witness saw Egley on many occasions. He had asked him to discuss the correspondence, but Egley would not. Statements made by Marshall and Egley were put in. The Crown objected to this course, but agreed to put them in though they were not of evidential value, and in Egley’s case, with a statement by Detective Murray, that he did not regard it as a full and frank statement. Magistrate’s Remarks On the conclusion of the address the magistrate stated: “I have listened with very great interest to the evidence and to counsel. It is not for me to say much about my reason for taking the course of action I am about to take. Should it become necessary I could say a good deal about it. It is not for me to say whether the accused are guilty or not. It is simply for me to say whether or not I consider they have a case upon which they should be called to answer to their country. I could comment at some length upon what I consider the actions of the accused to be, but I don’t wish in any way to do that because it might prejudice their chances. I consider that there is a prima facie case to answer.” Bail was allowed to the three accused in the sum of £IOO each, with a surety of like amount.