Theft of $8500 admitted

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34046, 9 January 1976, Page 5

Theft of $8500 admitted

A bar manager who stole hotel takings worth nearly 88500 and then tried to fly to Australia, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. < Peter Mathew Melville,) aged 24, unemployed, j pleaded guilty to a charge of) theft as a servant, and was; remanded in custody to; January 15 by Mr N. L.i Bradford, S.M. .Melville had been em-j ployed by the Hillsborough Tavern for 18 months. During the Christmas! • period, December 23 to 29.! • he was left in charge of the! bar takings. Sergeant J. R. Palmer,'; said that the defendant had! felt that he could no longer, go on because of overwork) ; combined with personal! • problems. Melville had been working; 161 hours a day, six days a! .week; and three or four I | hours on the seventh day. 1 On December 29, the! defendant took ail the avail-; able banknotes in the hotel,! and flew to Auckland. He was arrested there on, • January 6, after having! bought traveller’s cheques; and a ticket to Australia, alii (worth $l3OO. When arrested, Melville, admitted the offence and' said that he had felt deep! regret and thrown the rest of the money out of a car on to the road. Compensation of $70351 was sought. ( hi leans' burden The cost of living in Chile rose by 340.7 per cent last; year. However, the National,' Statistics Institute reports; that the rise in December' was 7.1 per cent, the lowest! monthly increase of the; year.—Santiago.