Gear missing during scare

Press, 10 February 1983, Page 5

Gear missing during scare

Camera equipment worth nearly $lOOO. locked by an Australian tourist in a Christchurch airport security locker while he was on holi-

day in New Zealand, had gone missing about the time of a bomb scare in the locker area during the Springboks rugby tour in 1981, the District Court heard yesterday. Exactly a year after the camera gear was lodged in the locker, a Christchurch man sold a camera accessory to a second-hand dealer for $l5O. according to evidence. The evidence was given during the hearing of alternative charges against the man. aged 46, of theft of a Nikon camera, motor drive, and two Tamron lenses, between July 16 and August 5. 1981. or alternatively with receiving this equipment from a person or persons unknown, knowing it to have been stolen. After depositions of evidence of eight prosecution witnesses had been given. Mr R. C. Holland and Mrs E. M. Pluck. Justices of the Peace, held there was sufficient evidence to commit the defendant for trial on the receiving charge. They discharged him on the charge of theft, holding there was insufficient evidence to commit him for trial. He was granted continued interim suppression of his name, and was remanded at large to February 25. pending a date for trial in the District Court. He had denied both charges. Mr B. McClelland. Q.C., and Mr P. J. Egden, appeared for the defendant. Defence was reserved. Sergeant M. P. Caldwell prosecuted. Edmund Joseph Nicholls,

an insurance agent, of Sydney. gave evidence of arriving at Christchurch airport on July 16. 1981. for a ski-ing holidav.

He had purchased a camera, lenses, and camera motor drive for sAust993 at a duty-free shop in Sydney, and rented a locker in the terminal building to store the gear until his departure from Christchurch on August 5. On arriving back at the airport on August 5 Mr Nicholls found the lockers were no longer in the same place. He was told there had been a bomb hoax, and the lockers had had to be removed. He was taken to where the contents of lockers had been stored, but his equipment was not there. He was then shown to the airport police office but none of the equipment was there, and he wrote out a complaint form listing the missing items. Sergeant M. E. Paton said that he was told of lockers having been overturned, about 8.20 p.m. on July 18, 1981. and went to the area. He found two banks of lockers had been pushed over. Two lockers had “’Bok bomb" written on them. Property was strewn on the floor. After an inspection had been made for bombs, the lockers were stood up and the remainder of the lockers were opened with an airport official's key. This property was not removed at the time as they were searching for a bomb only. The property which had been on the floor was itemised and put in the police office safe. Constable C. G. M. de Zwart said that Mr Nicholls saw him on August 5 about property which had been secured in the police office safe after the lockers were found overturned. Mr Nicholls’ equipment was not amongst that held by the police, and he could find no record of the items. Mr Nicholls made a complaint about the losses and later supplied serial numbers of each item. Ronald James Young, a senior electrical technician, gave evidence of answering a newspaper advertisement for camera equipment, on October 3. 1981. A Ricoh camera and accessories were offered for sale. He met the person who

gave the same surname as the defendant. He purchased a camera for $350. The man said he had a Nikon or was getting a Nikon. Amongst other equipment the man had was a Tamron adapter which, he said, he was selling because he would have no use for it with his new camera.

A second-hand dealer. John Andrew Nuttall, gave evidence of the defendant calling at his shop on July 16. 1982. wishing to sell a Nikon automatic film winder. Mr Nuttall purchased it for $l5O. The defendant said he had got it from Australia. Detective Senior-Sergeant R. G. Carson said that, in a search of the defendant's home on August 17 last year, camera equipment was found which, police records showed, belonged to Mr Nicholls.

The equipment comprised a Nikon camera, and two Tamron lenses.

In police interviews, and in a written statement the defendant said he purchased the camera gear for $6OO from an Australian, named Duncan, just before the Australian was to return home. The Australian had asked for about $BOO but the defendant told him that he did not have that much and said he could sell his own Ricoh camera first. He subsequently advertised this for sale, and met Duncan again and purchased the Nikon camera and other equipment.

The defendant told the detective that he had checked with a camera shop and found that the camera and equipment w’ere worth $l2OO. but he did not know what Duncan had paid for them in Australia.

He was sure they would have been purchased duty free. “Duncan knew the price I was prepared to pay.”

The defendant said he did not steal the camera and accessories, and did not know they were stolen when he purchased them. He had bought the items in good faith.

The defendant denied having tipped over the lockers and removed the camera gear belonging to Mr Nicholls.

He also denied having written “Bok bomb" on a locker •to make it appear that a demonstrator had upset the lockers.