'Press’ ad. hoax has sad result for owner

Press, 29 May 1978, Page 1

'Press’ ad. hoax has sad result for owner

Carpet, timber, roofing iron, and fittings ripped out of a Selwyn Street, Addington, house on Saturday have been slowly trickling back to the owner, who was the victim of a hoax. The house was completely stripped after an advertisement appeared in “The Press” on Saturday inviting people to take everything but the fences, at their own risk, at 376 Selwyn Street. The owner knew nothing about the advertisement, although it had been submitted in his name.

As a result, whole walls were knocked down and there were gaping holes in the roof and outer walls where windows had been, as shown in the photographs. A spokesman for the owner said that although some items had been returned he was still waiting for carpet, a bath, a water cylinder, a heating unit, roofing iron, doors, and windows. He thought that the M.E.D. would like its switchboard back and that the Post Office would like its telephone returned. The switchboard was pulled out while the electricity was still turned on. While tearing out the bath and sink, people broke off the pipes and water flowed over the floors. “I cannot believe that people can come and break into a property which is in generally good condition, pull the roof off, and lift near-new carpet,” said the spokesman.

When he arrived at the, house at noon, there were about 12 persons on the property. He learned that there had been a steady stream of bargain hunters since 7.45 a.m. The implications of the hoax were far-reaching in that it showed that any person’s house could suffer the same fate. It was important that the same thing did not happen again. The damage showed howimportant it was to prosecute the hoaxer for the “truly malicious action.” The spokesman said that the owner was grateful to the Christchurch City Council, the police, neighbours, and others who had offered assistance. He also thanked those who had returned property after being asked to do so by the police. The C. 1.8. was waiting to see how much property was returned before taking further action, said Detective Sergeant P. N. Gardiner. If people knew the advertisement was a hoax they were liable to a charge of theft if they did not return the property taken from the house. The police had a list of car registration numbers to help them locate missing property, said Detective Sergeant Gardiner. The advertising manager of “The Press” (Mr B. F. Hastings) said that the advertisement had been printed in good faith. It had been telephoned in by a person whom the operator believed was genuine.