A WOMAN'S LAPSES

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 140, 13 June 1918, Page 3

A WOMAN'S LAPSES

THEFT AND FALSE PRETENCES

The hearing of the evidence in support of six charges of theft and false pretences tlo which a young fnarriad wojnan, Edith Annie Dorathona. Flaherty, pleaded guilty, was continued at' the Magistrate's Court by Messrs. R. Hanlon and I. Salek, j J.P.s, yesterday

afternoon.

Mrs. Mary Dewes gave evidence on the lines of Chief-detective Boddam's statement. .

Walter Smart, pawnbroker, of Wellington, stated that the accused went to his shop on 21st May, representing her- ' self as Mrs. Dewes.. She produced a post office savings bank book and asked him to advance her £50. Witness'told her that he could advance no money on the bank book and she than went away, but returned later with a. post office withdrawal slip, which she filled in and signed "Mary Dewes." Thinking the transaction was genuine, witness enclosed the slip and bank book in ajot envelope, sent them to Napier, and ad-1 vanced accused £29. I

. Alan Tolmie Ilawken, railway clerk, said that he arrived in Wellington on transfer about 28th February, bringing a tin trunk, among other effects, which were , left in the luggage room at the railway station. When he called for; his luggage a few days later, the trunk Was missing. When ho saw it in possession of the police, seveVal articles were missing. ' ■ ,

The theft from Louisa Russell was: •very similar to that from Hawken. The trunk was consigned through from Waimate, South Canterbury, to Raetihi, as excess luggage, but did not turn up at ■the latter station, although other luggage' did. Several articles were missing when the trunk was recovered by the police. Detective : Sergeant Scott gave evidence .as to the arrest of the accused. When told that she was wanted in connection with the savings bank incident she became very indignant, and said a mistake • had been made, but later admitted the charge. She was taken to the detective office, and there made a statement to the effect that on 15th May she was ■walking along Lambton-quay, when she saw an envelope lying on the footo^th. •and found "it to contain the bank .Dook. She had had bad news from England and was in pressing need of money, and that had caused her to commit the fraud. She denied all knowledge of Mrs. Dewes's trunk. Accused was then taken to the watchhouse, and while waiting for the matron, suddenly put heT handkerchief up to her mouth in a suspicious manner. Her hand was pulled away, «fnd it was found that she had attempted to swallow a luggage check. This led , to the finding of the trunk, and accused, I when told that it had been, recovered, made a second statement to the effect that when she arrived in Wellington •from Palmerston North her own trunks ■were placed on the platform, and a leather trunk—that belonging to Mts. Dewes—was placed on top of them. She called a. carrier, and gave him instructions to 1 take the luggage to her home ii; .'ivian-street. She there opened the case and found the bank book, which ■was not found in the street, as she had ' first stated. Accused later made a third ■ statement, in which she admitted steal- . •ing two other trunks from the railway • offices. She had simply called a carrier, ' and told him to remove the cases from •the station and take them to her home. The accused also admitted taking other articles enumerated in the charge sheet. ' Flaherty elected to be dealt with summarily in regard to the charges of theft ■from Louisa Russell and Mrs. Duncan, ; and on the first was sentenced to one month's imprisonment and on the second to fourteen days in gaol, the sentences to be concurrent.

On the other charges she was committed for sentence to the Supreme Court.