STOLE FROM FRIEND

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 257, 14 July 1926, Page 8

STOLE FROM FRIEND

OVERCOME BY SUDDEN TEMPTATION NOTE TAKEN FROM CASHBOX By TelegkafPress asswiaikkChristchurch, July 13. The sight of an open cashbox in the house of some friends was too great a temptation for Andrew Ivan Christie and he took a £lO note from it The crime was quickly discovered and this morning, Christie, a railway servant (aged 31), was charged before Mr. H. A. Young, S.M., inthe Ma^ s ' trate’s Court with the theft of a £lO note, the property of Mary Jane Haase. Christie elected to be dealt with summarilv and pleaded guilty. , Chief-Detective T. Gibson said *bat Christie was visiting a private board-ing-house and was asked by the proprietress to go to her room and ge something. While in the room lie t<>ok the £lO note from a cash box. He cashed it immediately and had only £6 on him when arrested, having spent the other £4. Nothing else was known against accused, who was a married man with no family. . . Accused’s counsel said that Christie was a close friend of complainant and her husband. When he went to complainant's room he saw the cashbox Wing open on the bed. A lot of money was exposed and accused yielded to the sudden temptation. He would be punished severely by losing his position in the Railway Department, and he might also lose Iris superannuation money) Counsel asked the to take these facts into consideration in fixing the penalty and in view of the offence being accused's first fall from grace asked for the suppression of bis name. . , „ . ~ The Magistrate (to Chief-Detective Gibson) : Do you know of any special weakness in this case? The chief-detective: It is hard to explain. I think that the weakness is more on his wife’s part than on his. He would be better away from hotels. Accused was admitted to probation for twelve mouths on condition that he takes out a prohibition order and refunds the £4 in such sums as the probation officer directs. The application for suppression of accuseti’s name was refused.