THEFT OF MONEY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26186, 9 August 1950, Page 8

THEFT OF MONEY

INSURANCE COLLECTOR PLEADS GUILTY Fr6m Our Own Reporter TIMARU, August 8. George Leonard Barratt, aged 23 of Temuka. pleaded guilty in the Timaru Magistrate’s Court this morning to a charge that on or about April 24 1950 and on dates between then and July 14, 1950, at Timaru, having received certain sums of money amounting to £390 18s on terms requming him to account for or pay the money to the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, LtxL he fraudulently omitted to account for or pay" the money to the company, and thereby committed theft. He was com. mitted to the Supreme Court at Christ, church for sentence. Messrs H. Mor. gan and L. V. Farthing, Justices of the Peace t were on 'the Bench. Senior-Detective J. W. Hill prosecu. ted, and Barratt conducted his own de. fence. George Frye, district manager of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, Ltd., said that the accused began work as an insurance collector on February 6, 1950. Accused was ‘given the names and addresses of 700 policy, holders, v and it was his duty to visit each policy holder and collect their weekly or monthly fees.' Early in July, 1950, witness became suspicious of the afccused, because certain policy-hold-ers, who were known to be good, regular payers, were shown as being in arrears. He interviewed the accused, who admitted that he had failed to account for certain money. On August 7 he received from Detective-Sergeant F. R. Hearsey the sum of £390 18s, which was the full restitution of the insurance money stolen by the accused. Harold Patrick Coman. district superintendent for the society, said he was instructed to audit the books of the Timaru branch and, as a result of the audit, he found thdt the amused had failed to account for £390 18s. Detective-Sergeant F. R Hearsey also gave ( e vi dence.