Trial On Theft Charge Begins In Supreme Court

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27442, 31 August 1954, Page 7

Trial On Theft Charge Begins In Supreme Court

The trial of Walter Hope Thomson on a charge that between' August 1 and September 4 1951 he stole sums totalling £358 Is 4d the property of the Christchurch Returned Services’ Association, was begun in the .Supreme Court yesterday before Mr Justice Adams and a jury. Mr G. S. Brockett is appearing for Thomson, and the Crown Prosecutor (Mr A. W. Brown) is conducting the prosecution. Mr Brown challenged two jurors and Mr Brockett five. One man called for common jury service was excused by his Honour. Counsel agreed that the case was likely to last for the greater part of two days and waiting jurors were discharged until Wednesday morning. Mr Brown requested an amendment to the indictment from one of simple theft to one of theft as a servant. His Honour said he would take note of the application. The thefts were alleged to have taken place while Thomson was assistant secretary of the Christchurch R.S.A., said Mr Brown. The jurors might well ask what had caused the delay in bringing the charge, he said. The charge was brought only after an extraordinary happening on the night of February 11, 1954, when the office of the association was entered, the door of the strongroom was opened and certain papers removed. An attempt had apparently been made to burn the building. Thomson had been assistant secretary since 1947 and was suspended shortly after February 11 this year. The Riccarton-Fendalton committee of the R.S.A. decided to go into ’recess in 1951 and - its funds were to be withdrawn, said Mr Brown. A cheque for £358 Is 4d was made out, but according to the Crown’s case, this amount was paid in to the -association’s funds to cover defalcations over the period mentioned in the charge. In February, 1952, Thomson reported to the police that his car had been taken by some unauthorised person, said Mr Brown. The car was recovered the next day by the police, but books containing records of the association’s affairs in July or August which—the accused claimed—were in the car when he left it, were not there. Apparent Discrepancies The annual accounts of the Riccar-ton-Fendalton suburban committee for 1952 showed that there should have been more than £9OO to its credit at the end of the year, but the R.S.A.’s

annual accounts for the same period showed something over £5OO as held by the association for this committee. The discrepancy was £358 Is 4d, and had been noticed by officers of the association, several of whom asked Thomson about it. Thomson had told them the amount was held in another account of the association. The treasurer of the association had pressed the accused to give some explanation, ana the pressure became acute until February of this year, said Mr Brown. On February 11, Thomson was the last person to leave the office in the afternoon. When the caretaker arrived early the next morning there was a scene of disorder in the office and there had been an obvious attempt to set alight to some papers and ignite the building. The accused and the secretary, Mr L. A. McKenzie, were the only persons who had keys to the padlock on the front door. Records were missing from the office bn February 12 which covered the period of July and August, said Mr Brown. Interviewed by detectives in April, Thomson was told his statement that the £358 was included in the item “outstanding creditors” had been proved to be wrong. “It doesn’t look too good for me, does it?” was his only comment, said Mr Brown. “The Crown case is that Thomson knew the game was up—he was being pressed for an explanation—he deliberately destroyed the records and tried to set fire to the, place to destroy the evidence against him,” said Mr Brown. The Crown case consisted mainly of circumstantial evidence, but there were occasions when circumstantial Evidence was sufficient to remove all reasonable doubt. Evidence along the lines indicated by Mr Brown was given by George Alfred Franks, who was appointed secretary of the Riccarton-Fendalton suburban committee of the Christchurch RS.A. on June 13, 1951; by Leonard Athol McKenzie, secretary of the association; by Francis Henry Miller, a member of the Riccarton-Fendalton committee; by Reginald John Cornwall, treasurer of the association and chairman of the trustees of the association’s suburban club rooms trust fund; by Albert George Bean, a bank officer; Bruce Allot Caygill and Lawrence Hibberd, members of the firm which audits the association’s accounts; Detective G. A. Brewer; and Constable J. E. S. Drain. The Court then adjourned until this morning.