MOTORIST CONVICTED BY MISTAKE

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22237, 30 October 1937, Page 5

MOTORIST CONVICTED BY MISTAKE

♦ POLICE ASK WITHDRAWAL OF INFORMATIONS

How a motorist’s failure to appear in Court in answer to a summons resulted in his conviction for traffic offences actually committed by another man was related by Sub-Inspector D. A. Mac Lean in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The sub-inspector was applying for a rehearing of the charges brought against Charles Bigg Bruce on October 22, and for leave to withdraw the two charges on which Bruce was then convicted. Mr E. C. Levvey, S.M., was on the Bench. ■ Sub-Inspector Mac Lean said that a man had got possession of a car illegally. He would appear m Court later for conversion. Before anything was known about that, however, he had been caught by Constable Warren for failing to give way and for driving without a licence. A conviction was entered against Bruce on both charges. It subsequently turned out that the car had been converted by someone else, and that Eruce was not in the car at the time it was stopped by Constable Warren. When a summons was served on Bruce he did not appear, because he didn’t know what it was all about. , The Magistrate: That was foolisp, wasn’t it? ■ '» Sub-Inspector Mac Lean added that the police had acted in good faith when they brought the summons against Bruce. He asked leave to withdraw boih informations. The withdrawal asked for was granted.