Man said to have altered licence

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 5

Man said to have altered licence

A charge of altering a driver’s licence with intent to defraud, and 31 subsequent charges of using a Trust Bank Cashflow card to obtain a financial advantage were faced in the District Court yesterday by a parking warden, Colin Bruce Hammond, aged 26.

He was remanded on bail to January 12, without plea, by Judge Frampton.

The charge of altering the driver’s licence involved Hammond’s allegedly altering another man’s licence, which he found, by changing an initial to make it into another name.

He was then alleged to have used the licence as proof of identification to open a Trust Bank account and make withdrawals from this account exceeding his initial deposit.

A duty solicitor, Mr A. N. D. Garrett, sought the remand, and interim suppression of Hammond’s name and occupation. Reasons for seeking this included the adverse effect the publicity would have on Hammond’s ability to make restitution “of some $1400,” and the ill health of a relative. The Judge said the grounds advanced did not justify his making a suppression order. ROBBERY CHARGE A further remand, in custody, to January 16 was granted to Richard Thomas Mathias, aged 36, unemployed. He made a second appearance on a charge of robbing a woman of $2OO and a pocket knife while armed with a knife on December 22 FOURTH TIME Riding a motor-cycle

which he unlawfully took, when he was disqualified from driving, led to Christopher John Manawatu appearing on two charges. Manawatu, aged 17, unemployed, admitted unlawfully taking the motorcycle from the owner’s driveway in Hoon Hay on December 22, and riding this when disqualified. He was remanded on bail to January 12 for sentence. It was his fourth conviction for driving while disqualified. Sergeant B. M. Roswell said that ater taking the motor-cycle, Manawatu was seen riding it in a “noisy fashion” in Rolleston. The machine had sustained some damage, which Manawatu told the police had occurred when he fell from it.