Inquiry Into Theft

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31628, 14 March 1968, Page 24

Inquiry Into Theft

(N.Z. Press Association?

AUCKLAND, Mar. 13. Fred Goodwin, an officer of the Cook Islands police force, gave evidence in the Supreme Court at Auckland today about inquiries he made into the alleged theft of £73 Ils 6d from the Rarotonga Hotel.

Mr Goodwin was giving evidence in the hearing of claims for damages by Albert Charles Dawson against Mr Goodwin another police officer, William John Prentice, and the Cook Islands Government for alleged malicious prosecution and libel. Mr Dawson, aged 55, former manager of the Rarotonga Hotel, is claiming a total of $10,230 in three actions which are being heard together. The trial, which is before Mr Justice Perry and an allmale jury, ended its eighth day today. It is expected to continue into next week. Mr R. L. Maclaren and Mr D. J. Hill appear for Mr Dawson, Mr R. I. Barker and Mr A. A. Lusk for the Cook Islands Government, and Mr Goodwin and Mr P. B. Temm for Mr Prentice. Mr Goodwin, aged 27, said

at the beginning of 1966 he was officer in charge of the inquiry branch of the police force at Rarotonga. On February 11, 1966, Mr Prentice, the chief of police, gave him a file on the possible theft of money from the Rarotonga Hotel imprest account and instructed him to carry out early inquiries. At the Treasury an officer explained to him how the alleged theft of the money came to be discovered. He received documents relevant to the inquiry. Mr Goodwin said he checked with two police officers who lived in the same district as the two cashiers at the Treasury about the characters and records of the cashiers. The officers told him that as far as they knew neither of the cashiers had a record.

“I checked to see if either of the cashiers had been overspending," he said. The result of the check was negative.

In the middle of February, 1966, he asked Mrs Dawson about the matter but she said she could not help him and told him to wait until Mr Dawson returned from New Zealand. In March he took written statements from both the cashiers, who denied any knowledge of the missing money.

Earlier, Trevor Charles Clarke, a solicitor, assisting the Advocate-General of the Cook Islands (Mr E. J. V. Dyson) said he could point to no direct evidence to support a charge of theft of papers by Mr Dawson. The Judge said Mr Dyson must have had before him evidence Mr Clarke had described, plus an admission by another person that she had taken the documents. Mr Clarke agreed with this. He also told the judge that he had no doubt at all that Mr Dyson intended Mr Dawson to be prosecuted for theft.