MAGISTRATE’S COURT Tax Breaches Bring £265 Fine

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30900, 5 November 1965, Page 8

MAGISTRATE’S COURT Tax Breaches Bring £265 Fine

Appearing on eight charges of wilfully making a false return of income and two charges of negligently making a false return of income, Sydney Watson, jun., a market gardener, was convicted and fined £265 by Mr E. A. Lee, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty. Mr N. W. Williamson, who prosecuted for the Inland Revenue Department, said that in November, 1963, an inspector investigated Watson’s financial affairs. From March 31, 1954, to March 31, 1963, there was a deficiency of £6365 13s 9d in income declared. The tax deficiency was £2148 10s 9d. The defendant had said his failure to make correct returns must have been attributable to his system of accounting. Mr G. S. Brockett, who appeared for the defendant, said that Watson had adopted a system whereby the proceeds from his sale of produce were accounted for by the invoices and cheques. He put these in a box. He used the cheques for any expenses and put any receipts into the box. At the end of each year he totalled up the invoices, cheques and receipts and submitted an account to his solicitor. There was no record of his financial dealings other than what was in the box.

Watson had co-operated to the full with the inspector and immediately paid the tax he had evaded, Mr Brockett said. He now had a doubleentry accounting system and was paying more attention to his financial affairs. BOOKMAKING DENIED

Decision was reserved to enable counsel to make written submission on a charge of bookmaking against Robert Manuera Thoms, aged 46, a showman. Thoms pleaded not guilty, and was represented by Mr W. F. Brown. The charge arose from the operation of the game known as red, white, and blue at the Ellesmere Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s show at Leeston on October 16.

Sergeant J. Burrell said that money was placed on one of three coloured squares and then a dart was thrown at a darts board with coloured stripes. On the instructions of Inspector Silk he arrested Thoms on a charge of betting in a public place. To Mr Brown Sergeant Burrell said he was aware that the game had been played at shows for many years. He agreed that it had never occurred to him that the game was bookmaking. He also agreed that the accused had been kept in the cells and not released until 9 p.m. on the day be was arrested. It was Inspector Silk who entered the charge of bookmaking in the charge book. Inspector R. P. Silk said he went to the show in plain clothes. He told Thoms he was betting in a public place, and told him to close his stall in side-show alley. Thoms did not do so.

To Mr Brown Inspector Silk admitted that he knew of no case where a charge of bookmaking had been laid in similar circumstances. He was aware that a magistrate had held that red, white, and blue was a game of skill and not a game of chance. He defied that his view of the game was contrary to that of the police generally. He knew that Inspector Hamilton of the Police Training School, Trentham held a view contrary to his. Inspector Silk said he had closed the game of red, white, and blue at functions held by charitable organisations. He said he arrested Thoms on one charge but had another charge in the back of his mind.

Mr Brown submitted that the charge could not possibly succeed, because when the pea-son placing the bet threw the dart it was a game of skill. Thoms had been arrested on one charge, and it was not until several hours later that he was informed in the cells that he was to be charged with bookmaking. There was not a tittle of evidence by the prosecution that

r Thoms earned his living by the game. Mr Brown’s right to call evidence was reserved. UNCUSTOMED RADIO Llewellyn Andrew Clyde Bettridge, a truck driver (Mr M. J. Glue), was convicted and fined £25 on a charge of having uncustomed goods on September 8 to the value of £6. He pleaded not guilty. Mr N. W. Williamson, who prosecuted for the Customs Department, said a customs officer" asked the defendant whether he had any goods in the cab of his truck. Bettridge said he had nothing. When a search was begun, the defendant produced a transistor radio which he said he found on the wharf and thought he might as well keep. “If he found it, as he claims, he made no inquiries as to whether it was lost, nor did he tell anyone he had found it,” the Magistrate said. “1 find the defendant’s explanation quite unacceptable.” FINED FOR THEFT lan Stuart Nicholson, aged 24, a shed hand (Mr G. R. Lascelles), was fined £l2 when he appeared for sentence on a charge of stealing £5 from Janson’s Corsetry Salon on October 15. Restitution of £5 was ordered. “It is a tragedy to see a man with your abilities and qualifications before the Court,” the Magistrate said. “In this case, I am satisfied you were under the influence of liquor, and that this largely explains the offence.” DISMISSED A charge of supplying liquor to a minor at the Clarendon Hotel on August 19, against Inglis Russell Galbraith, aged 24, a police constable (Mr J. Meltzer), was dismissed. He pleaded not guilty. Mr Meltzer said that because the minor—lan Murray Gardiner —was a police constable, the defendant assumed he was over 21 years of age when he saw him at the hotel. He did not think a police constable would commit a breach of the law. “The fact that Gardiner appeared a mature and sensible police constable and that he came to the hotel with a sergeant must have contributed to the belief that Gardiner was over 21,” the Magistrate said. “The belief was not unreasonable.” TUNNEL OFFENCES On a charge of passing in the no-passing area at the Christ-church-Lyttelton road tunnel, Robert McCallum was fined £6 and disqualified from driving for three months. He was also fined £3 on a charge of exceeding 30 miles an hour in the tunnel. Charged with exceeding 30 miles an hour in the tunnel on September 13 Victor Leonard Neate was fined £6. Harvey John Corbett pleaded guilty to charges of exceeding 30 miles an hour without a safety helmet in the tunnel on August 27 and of exceeding 45 miles an hour with a pillion passenger. He was fined £3 for the first offence and £2 for the second. On charges of overtaking in the tunnel, Rodney James Birchfield and Donald Raymond Offwood were each fined £5. UNLICENSED SETS For having an unlicensed television set Mary Carmel Adamson was ordered to pay costs, and the following were fined:—Mavis Audry Clarkson, £5: Betty Crampton, £3: Winton Davies. £5; Tin Hunu, £5; Herman Moot. £3; Mary Paulsen, £5; Edward Brian Roberts, £5. NO PERMIT On a charge of building without a permit on or about July 31 Owen Frederick Holley was fined £lO. (Before Mr H. J. Evans, S.M.) FOR SENTENCE On five charges of making false declarations under the Social Security Act between 1959 and 1965, Catherine Pearl Kempthorne, aged 53, a kitchen hand (Mr J. N. Matson), was convicted and remanded on bail until today for sentence. She pleaded guilty. Detective Sergeant A. E. V. Yaxlev skid the accused obtained £1067 in excess of benefits due to her as a result of making the false declarations. BURGLARY Yoi Lowe Shiu, aged 20, a shop assistant, was remanded on bail to November 11 for sentence on six charges of burglary involving the theft of property worth more than £lOOO, and on one charge of receiving stolen property. He pleaded guilty. THEFTS FROM CARS Eric Kochar, aged 19, a presser, Albert Eric Lye, aged 18, a machinist, and Barry James Whear, aged 18, a painter, were remanded on bail to November 11 for sentence on a joint charge of theft of articles valued at £5 5s from a car. They pleaded guilty. Whear and Kochar were also remanded to the same date for sentence on a charge of stealing articles valued at £3 2s from a car. They pleaded guilty. THEFT AS SERVANT Stanley Joseph Stevens, aged 19, a salesman, xvas fined £l5 when he appeared for sentence on a charge of theft as a servant of £1 from Hay’s, Ltd. Mr M. J. Glue appeared for the accused. CONVERSION Phillip Leslie Winter, aged 18, a labourer, was remanded on bail to November 11 for sentence on four charges of unlawfully taking motor-cycles. He pleaded guilty. SCRAP-METAL THEFT John Donnelly, 27 a workman, was remanded on bail to November 8 for sentence on

a charge of stealing scrap metal valued at £5, the property of McPhail and Company, on October 10. He pleaded guilty. Detective Sergeant Yaxley said the metal was stolen from the university site at Ham. BURGLARY Donald Allan Stewart, aged 18, a driver, was admitted to probation for three years, fined £5O, and ordered to make restitution of £4O on a charge of burglary at Dunedin on August 9. He was ordered to live and work where directed. DROVE UNDER INFLUENCE Stanley Duke, aged 36, a maintenance carpenter, was fined £4O, and his driver’s licence was cancelled for three years, on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs in Worcester street on October 25. He pleaded guilty, and was represented by Mr M. J. Glue. Donald lain Ross, aged 37, a cable foreman, was fined £4O, his driver’s licence was cancelled for three years, on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs at Halswell on October 23. He pleaded guilty, and was represented by Mr Glue. Whangarepo Hiku, aged 20, a woodworker, was fined £35, and his driver’s licence was cancelled for three years, on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs in Lincoln road on October 23. He pleaded guilty, and was represented by Mr R. G. Blunt. Arthur Muller, aged 56, a supervisor, was fined £3O, and his driver’s licence was cancelled for three years, on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs on the Christ-church-Lyttelton tunnel road on October 24. He pleaded guilty, and was represented by Mr Blunt. Graeme Francis Swift, aged 30, a butcher (Mr Glue), was convicted and fined £4O and disqualified from driving for three years on a charge of driving in Edgeware road on October 23 under the influence of drink or drugs. He pleaded guilty. On a charge of riding a powercycle in Wharenui road on October 22 under the influence of drink or drugs, Edward John Matson, aged 50, a railway worker (Mr Glue), was convicted and fined £2O and disqualified from driving for three years. He pleaded guilty. Wilfred Gordon Mundy, aged 55, a railway worker (Mr E. O. Sullivan), was convicted- and fined £3O and disqualified from driving for three years on a charge of driving in Aorangi road on October 15 under the influence of drink or drugs. He pleaded guilty. OBSCENE LANGUAGE Alick Edward Black, an unemployed carpenter (Mr E. O. Sullivan), was convicted and fined £5 on a charge of using obscene language in a bus in Cathedral square on September 'll. He pleaded guilty. NAME SUPPRESSED A youth, whose name was sup pressed, was remanded on bail to November 8 for sentence on a charge of stealing a vest valued at Ss 6d from the New Brighton shop of Beaths, Ltd., on October 23. He pleaded guilty. JOINT CHARGES Leslie John Wanhalla, aged 18, unemployed, and John William King, aged 18, a workman, were remanded on bail to November 8 for sentence on two joint charges of unlawfully taking cars valued at £l5O and £BO. They pleaded guilty. Detective-Sergeant Yaxley said the accused abandoned a car in the Marshland area early on October 22 and were captured after a chase across paddocks. The other car was damaged to the extent of £7O when it skidded off the road into a ditch at Aranui. DISCHARGED Bernard Watts, aged 47, unemployed, was discharged without conviction under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act on a charge of theft of £lO, the property of Edward James Smith, on October 14. He pleaded guilty. Detective-Sergeant Yaxley said that Watts was given a letter to post to the Ashburton Magistrate’s Court. He opened it and removed the £lO, it contained. INDECENT ASSAULT A man, whose name was suppressed, was remanded on bail to November 8 for sentence on a charge of indecent assault on a girl aged five on October 7. He pleaded guilty. DISMISSED A charge against Roderick Leonard Maurice Jackson, aged 62, a stock buyer (Mr R. A. Young), of driving in W’harenui road on October 4 under the influence of drink or drugs was dismissed. He pleaded not i guilty. BENCH WARRANT A bench warrant was issued for the arrest of Andrew Docherty, aged 26, a carpenter, on charges of credit by fraud and false pretences on October 25. Detective-Sergeant Yaxley said the accused had been remanded on bail to November 11, but had failed to report to; the police as directed in his bond. REMANDED John Elwin Hall, aged 20, a trucK driver, was remanded on bail to November 24 on a charge of obscene exposure on October 28. William Ross, aged 46, unemployed, was remanded on bail to November 18 on a charge of unlawfully taking a car valued at £lOO on October 29. David Mervyn Coats, aged 38, a workman, was remanded on bail to November 11 on three charges of false pretences and two of inciting a person to commit false pretences. He elected trial by jury on all charges. Maxwell Carlton Carney, aged 41, a fitter, was remanded on bail to November 18 on a charee

of driving under the influence of drink or drugs on the Christ-church-Lyttelton road tunnel motorway on October 30. Peter John Luxton, aged 30, a fisherman, was remanded on bail to November 18 on a charge of assault on October 26. James Peta, aged 26, a showman, was remanded in custody to November 10 on a charge of stealing a radio valued at £3O, the property of John David Adams, on September 3. Lindsay Charles Alexander MacLaren, aged 17, unemployed, was remanded on bail to No vember 11 on a charge of false pretences on October 28. Garry Kenneth Bates, aged 18, was remanded on bail to November 18 on a charge of obstructing the footpath in Cathedral square on October 29. Richard Ellery, aged 41, a plumber, was remanded on bail to November 11 on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs. Kenneth Roy Townsend, aged 19, a foundry labourer, was remanded on bail to November 11 on a charge of using threatening language in Cathedral square. Maurice Raymond Leonard, aged 22, a cleaner, was remanded to November 10 on a charge of driving under the influence of drink or drugs on October 16. Colin William Nicholl, aged 30, a warehouseman, was remanded on bail to November 11 on a charge of obtaining credit by fraud—a taxi fare for 18s. He elected trial by jury. Robert Frederick Woodstock, aged 41, a wool-store labourer, was remanded on bail to November 11 on a charge of assaulting a constable on October 16. Norman William Bradley, aged 30, a workman, was remanded on bail to December 9 on a charge of obstructing, a constable on October 16. Brian Pringle, aged 25, a driver, was remanded in custody to November 11 on 21 charges of false pretences between September 27 and October 3. Leslie William MacCJure, aged 20, a salesman, was remanded on bail to November 24 on a charge of theft of a television set valued at £lO5 between May 4 and 18. ' ' > (Before Mr A. W. Yortt, S.M.) DISMISSED A charge against Paul Henry Laird Maindonald, aged 26, a sales representative (Mr J. G. Leggat), of indecent assault on a woman on October 8 was dismissed. He pleaded not guilty. An application for suppression of name was refused.