Constable For Trial On Ten Charges Of Theft
(New Zealand Press Association)
AUCKLAND, Dec. 18. In statements alleged to have been made to a police inspector, George Francis Molloy, former constable in charge of Mission Bay police station, said he had been too busy compiling a jury list to enter details of fines and costs collected on distress warrants in the warrant book, it was said in evidence in the Magistrate’s Court, today. Molloy who denied 10 charges of theft as a constable of £66 was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. The hearing today was before Mr W. S. Spence, S.M., Mr E. W. Mahood prosecuted and Mr L. P. Leary, Q.C., with him Mr R. A. Adams-Smith, appeared for Molloy. Inspector Thomas Lionel Doole said he first interviewed Molloy in the course of a routine police inquiry in, connexion with the disposal of distress warrants. Molloy was not cautioned as at the time there was no question of him being charged with an offence. Witness said Molloy admitted that on several occasions he had received warrants and executed them, but had not entered them in the warrant book. Molloy denied a complaint by a woman who said she had paid fines to a woman at Mission Bay police station. He said he had collected the money himself and at. no time did his wife receive money. ‘“I asked Molloy why warrants were not entered in the book,” said the witness. “He said it was his practice to enter them usually after they had been executed. Some of the warrants had not been entered in the book at all and he said he had not had time because he had been too busy taking names for the jury roll.” Witness said ■he also asked Molloy why he had not obtained money orders instead of sending
money to the Court in _cash. Molloy had replied: ‘‘l didn’t have time.” There was a police instruction in existence which required money to be paid in by money order. Inspector Doole said in reply to Mr Adams-Smith that when he was a young constable he always made sure he received a receipt for collected fines. “But to be quite fair, I understand 'a receipt is not always received at the police stations,” he said. Replying to Mr Mahood, he said that if he had not received a receipt he would have tried to find out where it had got to. Witnesses said that Molloy had called on them to collect fines and had given them receipts. Molloy was granted bail in his own recognisance of £lOO and a surety of the same amount.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19591219.2.188
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29082, 19 December 1959, Page 17
Word Count
441Constable For Trial On Ten Charges Of Theft Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29082, 19 December 1959, Page 17
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.