Thefts spurred by illness, Court told

Press, 22 September 1983, Page 4

Thefts spurred by illness, Court told

Greymouth reporter

A former hotel manageress who stole liquor worth over $4500 from her employer in Greymouth and clothing from shops in Christchurch, Northlands and New Brighton worth $776 was said by a psychiatrist to have had a longstanding depressive illness, her counsel told Judge Bisphan in the District Court at Greymouth yesterday. Mr K. J. Taylor was appearing for Gloria Jean McKenzie, aged 34, the former manageress of Revingtons Hotel, Greymouth. Mr Taylor said that the defendant had been married at 16 years of age, had had a child the next year, and within two years of marriage had become a widow as a result of the Strongman mine disaster. She had raised her son but had a series of ups and downs in her personal life, and the responsibilities of her employment and long

hours had brought about a peronsal crisis in the last few months. The defendant had told the police in Christchurch when she was apprehended that she did not have a use for the garments she took. Reports showed that she had a depressed personality and a long-standing depressive illness. The Judge said that it was “very sad to see a person of the defendant’s background before the court.” The charges were serious, particularly the theft of liquor as a servant, but all the goods had been recovered. It would norm-' ally have warranted a term of imprisonment, but there was a certain amount of diminished responsibility in that the defendant had admitted taking items for which she had no use. She was placed on probation for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service work.