SUPREME COURT

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24869, 8 May 1946, Page 3

SUPREME COURT

NINE TRUE BILLS OF INDICTMENT ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGE Attempted murder was the most serious bill of indictment to be considered, said his Honour Mr Justice Fair, in his address to the grand jury, when the quarterly criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court opened in Christchurch yesterday morning. He was happy to say there were only nine bills, nis Honour continued,. the others being a charge of indecent assault, one of bigamy, four of theft,x or similar offences, and two connected with the illegal distillation of spirits.' Evidence in the charge of attempted murder showed that the accused had served as a stoker in the Navy during the war. During leave in May, 1944, he was married, and later, while again on service, he complained in letters of his wife’s behaviour, as it had been reported to him that she had been associating with other men. which he considered improper for- a married woman. There had been mutual recriminations /and the accused had alleged that his wife married him just to receive his allowances. When the accused returned on -Christmas Day last year, his wife did not meet him, and it was about a week before he saw her. She consented to his staying with l her, but declined to resume marital relations. The husband then went away, but saw her periodically. It was stated that he entreated his wife to go away for a holi-. day with him, and a woman witness would say that in Conversation with her the accused showed nervous strain and concern about his life’s behaviour. On one occasion he produced a pistol and said he was going to.shoot his wife. The, young sensibly tried to take his’ mind away from such thoughts. Later, when visiting his wife at ner mother’s home, he said that if she would walk to the tram with him she would not be troubled with him again. This was an ambiguous remark, and might even have been interpreted as indicating that he intended to take his own life. However, the wife agreed to go to the tram, and evidence would be given that other people heard a shot fired and the woman was found on the street with a wound in the base of the spine. The accused ran away, but was arrested later while riding a bicycle. He admitted firing the .shot, but said he intended only to frighten his wife because she was taunting him. She, however, had been seriously incapacitated and her mental condition deteriorated to such an extent that she had been committed to a mental hospital. There were alternative charges of assault, with intention to do grievous bodily harm, and assault so as to cause actual bodily harm!

Other Cases The next case concerned a charge of indecent assault on a boy aged 10 years. There should be no difficulty in returning a true bill, as there was direct evidence and the accused had admitted the offence in a statement to the police. In the. charge of bigamy, the accused was married in May, 1943, and on April 23, 1945, went through a form of marriage at Palmerston North with a girl aged 17, whom he had known only five weeks. The accused appeared to be subnormal, and had been treated at mental hospitals.

The case of theft concerned a suitcase being taken from a car in Oxford .terrace. The prosecution claimed that the accused had been seen removing the suitcase and that he was later seen in possession of the case by a hotel barman. On a charge of forgery, it was claimed that the accused had produced a document to the Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Council purporting to show that he owed £5 5s for seven weeks’ rent, and th'at it was signed by his landlord. The accused now admitted that this was not so. The allegations in the indictment for obtaining money by false pretences were that the accused produced a cheque for £l2, written on a borrowed form, and signed with a fictitious name, and borrowed £5 on it from the barman of a hotel.

The next case was a little more complicated, the accused being charged with receiving 13 suit lengths, knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained’. The material had been stolen from two shops in Colombo street. The accused later sent lengths to acquaintances in different parts of the country. The fact that they were surprised should be noted. Finally there were cases of persons charged with offences connected with the illegal distillation of spirits. One was charged with being in possession of premises where such offences were committed and with aiding and assisting in the illegal distillation of spirits. Two other men were jointly charged with aiding and assisting in this offence. The first man must have knowm the purposes for which the shed was used. One of the others was caught setting up equipment, but there was no evidence of active association in the case of the second.

The grand jury returned true bills on all indictments.