PLEA FOR PROBATION

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 122, 25 May 1928, Page 10

PLEA FOR PROBATION

THEFT OF TYPEWRITERS ;■ A.plea for probation, despite a pr& vious ' conviction for theft, was made by Mr. A. M. Cousins in the Magistrate's Court to-day iv the case of Ab- . raham Novak, a compositor, aged 29, who admitted the theft of £5 and three typewriters, of the total value of £42 18s. Chief-Detective Ward said that the : accused had been employed on the staff of tho VDominion" newspaper for some years. He usually finished work.at 2 o'clock in the morning, and it had been .his practice to commit tho offences after he left work. The £5 was stolen from a work-mate, and the' ■ typewriters were taken on .'different* dates. During the daytime tho accused was connected with a typewriter business. There had been p. series of thefts in the building, and it was be- , ■ liovcd that the accused was responsible for. them all. Ho had'been fined £1 in 1917 for theft. Counsel for the accused, Mr. Cous-' ins, said that Novaß's explanation of the theft of the typewriters was that he had been pressed by some of his creditors, and had stolen the machines to raise money.. His home life was ■excellent, and he had every inducement \ to go. straight. ' Counsel said that the previous conviction related to a' trivial offence, and asked for probation. ' Mr. E. Page, 5.M.,. remanded the ao- * | cuscd until Monday for sentence. /