ONE CHARGE FAILS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1932, Page 15

ONE CHARGE FAILS

CONVICTED ON OTHERS

ASSAULT. ON A CHINESE

DETECTIVE'S -POSITION

Tollduing a long dehbeiahon in the juiy room, and after having sought advice on the meaning of "actual bod

•llv harm,'' and then, at a liter stage, coming into Court to ask other ques tions, the jury at the Supremo Couit tual jesterday ot Albert Ernest Clit

*ton and Leonard Humphicjs failed to agreo on tho fiist and major cnaigo against the accused of lobbuig and using violence- towards Ah Lai, a Chinese fiuiterei, at his premises m Pine street. On tho second and third

•counts-in the indictment, those oi us saulting Ah Lai so as to cause *hnn actual bodily harm and of common as-

saulf, the jury found both accused guilty.

In Clifton's case the foiemin said the jury lecommended .1 considelablo measure of leniency. He also added that m view of Mi. Justice Reed's spe cial lefeience to the position of Detce tivet Hayhurst in his summing up, the majority of the juiy sympathised with the detective m tho verdict.

Mr. Justice Reed said that was iciy «atisfactoiy, and asked if he was to

understand from the foicinan's pro noun cement that there was a 1 substantial body of opinion among the jurymen that the detective had told the trnth. • , Tho foieman replied that that was «o, and his Honour said- "Well, I agree •with you on that." His Honoui said lie would take tho juij 's recommenda tion in regard to Clifton into consideration. Ho remanded both (accused for sentence. , JURY'S RETIREMENT/ The jury retired at 12 55 p.m, and, "in view of tho possibility of 'a verdict being returned within a'*slioir'timc, the Judge remained on the-Bendi and tlic adjournment -was not taken until twenty minutes^ator than usual. "When the Court Tesumed at 2 30 p in. 'there ■was no sign of the "jury; < they Trere still deliberating About* half -an hour later the Registrar icported that the jury had^beou unable to come to an agreement so far, and that they worn inquiring, what "actual bodily harm" meant. Mr. Justice Reed,, after consulting the Crown Prosecutor and coun sfcV for tho accused, 'sent a Jaw book giving the definition up to tho jury. His Honour dealt with a'numbei of other cases, and at i p.m. the jury took their seats on the jury benches. Tho foreman, on behalf of his fellows, sought his. Honour's advice.on j, number of'questions. After theses 'points had been cleared up, his Honour asked the foreman if he thought the jury was likely'to be long. "I am. afraid so, sir,'}, replied the foreman. - 'After the jury had retired again, hia Honour,. addressing the Ciown Prosecutor, said the indications appealed to be that the jury would'berlikely to return a verdict on the second count. In .that event would tho' Ciown Prosecutor be hkely to apply for a»ne^y trial on the first charge f f ,Tho Crdwn Piosccutor said he would like to consider ihe matter'liofoie gn ing a definito answei.

- The jury returned to the Court again at i 28 p m. with, then' verdict of guilty on the second and third counts. ,In reply tq his Honoui, tfyo prow a J?rosacu tar f gaid^he. <: T7b\fld f fntp^ a nolle prosequi (a. ?t,ay of, piofcc'eoingsj in lcgard to ,iho first count.1" * ', The- eqmmeut \>y Mr^" Justice Reed m his summing up^ Tcfeircd to by the fareman^of the' purv, -was in regard to the allegations made b.y the two ac «use& that the, statements produced bj .DetcctiTtp Hajhurst (in which each ac cused allegedly admitted lobbing and assaulting the Chinese) wqrc the lesult of the detective having held out the in duccmeut to them that if. they made the statements a certain gnl, M<ngaiel Johnston^, ■would not be charged

"GROSS CHARGE AGAINST ; . DETECTIVE.", - ~ -His > Honour's icraarks on'thc subject ,Ticic "as follows. — "This case assumes a serious aspect, ■beeauso a very gioss ehaige has been made against a detective offtccr.Jf that charge-were true, hejg, of course, quite unfit to hold any position in the force or to be ever employed as a Member of the force again. The charge is practically tliat this detective has got theso two men to sign statements which are absolutely devoid of any tr.uth. at all. 'Now, as mea of tho /tvoilcl and cominon■ense, do you "believe, do 'you' think, that it is probable that tho detective, glutting'it on the very lowest grounfls, .'would, be'such a fool a? to put himself t \n the hands of two men, such as these, * Tby ■wiitiiig a garbled story and inducing these men to sign it? Reference has been made,. by the Crown Prosecutoi, quite properly, to the fact .that these men. admitted that they never told'the detective anything approaching the story they have'told us hero to-day.

. . . " Supposing the story of the accused were true, how possibly could the ; girl have been brought into the mattor at aJU .. . Well, gentlemen, it'is* a matter for you, as Wellington citizens, 'to say whether it is possible that the detective officer—an experienced detective officer in. this case—would'so conduct his business in connection with.inquiries as to force these men to sign an allegedly nntrue story as to the ciime •.■which they aie alleged to have committed:."

His Honour spolcp to the n'uiy for no longer than ten minutes. He said he did not want to labour things.