Korean crew fined for Customs offence

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 4

Korean crew fined for Customs offence

Magistrate’s Court

Fines amounting to $575 were imposed on 13 mem-' bers of the crew of the Ko-! irean fishing boat Dong Won • No. 12 by Mr K. W. Framp{.ton, S.M., when they apspeared in the Magistrate’s jC.ourt yesterday on charges ! of possessing uncustomed goods. Mr D. J. Saunders,, for the 'Customs Department, said ‘that the 13 defendants . in- ; eluding the ship's master' ((Lee Kyung Hee) had 8.3 car-} tons, or 16,600 cigarettes,; (which had not been declared! when Customs officers examined the search list; which must be completed by all crew of visiting ships.: The Dong Won arrived at ' Lyttelton on Monday. It was, he said, the fishing ' vessel’s fourth visit to Lyt-; telton this year and it was! felt that those on it should; have been familiar with Cus- ' toms Department rules. ‘ On June 21, said Mr Saun-l! ders, a local resident had * been found in possession of. 1 a quantity of cigarettes. * Counsel for the 13 defendants (Mr T. M. Abbot) said'

I the visit of the Korean ! fishing vessel was unsche--duled in that it had returned to Lyttelton from sea to inspect broken turning gear. The charges laid against; them had bewildered the! crew members; the cigarettes were for their own use, counsel said. Depending on the quantity of cigarettes involved, the individual fines imposed 'ranged from $25 to $lOO in the case of the master. FRAUD CHARGE An unemployed man, aged (30. extradited from Australia (for an offence he is alleged ! to have committed in Christ- ! church more than a year (ago, was remanded in "custody to June 28 when, the Court was told, a plea would be entered. Paul Anthony (Powell faces a charge that with intent to, defraud he used a cheque made payable to Wild Real Estate, Ltd, for $38,000 to, obtain a pecuniary advan-| tage for himself. BURGLARY, THEFT Lucy Louise Bunyan, aged I,

1127, unemployed, was convicted and remanded in cusI tody to June 28 after having been convicted on charges of burglary, theft, and of being ia rogue and a vagabond. Sergeant M. P. Caldwell said the defendant had “cased” about 20 houses in Fendalton for future burglaries. She had looked about the homes, having as an excuse if challenged that she was looking for a fictitious person. She had pleaded guilty to the theft of a Department of Social Welfare cheque for $lB. DRUG CHARGES George Nicholas John Steentjes. aged 22. unemployed, charged with selling cannabis leaf to a person over the age of 18, was remanded to July 19 for the taking of depositions. His wife, Lois Ann Steentjes, who faces the same charge, I was also remanded to July 19. The alleged offences oc-i leurred on June 19.