THE YOUTH IN THE TAXI

Evening Star, Issue 17350, 12 May 1920, Page 6

THE YOUTH IN THE TAXI

DEFAULTING CLERK,

SPENDS £IOO IN JOY RIDES.

lo spend close on £IOO in "taxi dnv6S i and amusements in a few days is not a bad performance for a youth of 16. Robert Henry Brockie employed for a time as a clerk in the office of Mr J. S. Sinclair, solictor, of this City, recently accomplished this feat. But as the money so spent belonged not to him but to his, employer, he found himself in the dock at the City Police Court this morning charged in five informations with fraudulently converting to his own uso sums totalling £362 9s 6d, which had been handed to him to pay into the bank. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was committed by Mr Widdowson, S.M., to the Supreme Court for sentence. ( Evidence was "iven by Annie Morrison Leyland, book-keeper, that on various dates between the 10th and 27th of April she had handed Brockie sums varying from £7 to £29 4s 6d for the purpose of lodging them to the credit of trust accounts at the Bank of New Zealand and the Bank of New South Wales. On the 28th she examined tho pay-in book and noticed that the entry of £296 4s 6d, while bearing initials' in blue pencil! did not have tho bank stamp placed against it. On making inquiries she discovered that the amount had never been paid in and that the initials had not been placed there by tho teller Sums of £24 and £24 7s, which had also been handed to accused, had not been entered nt all, and other sums of £7 and £lO 18s had been entered but were not initialled or stamped.

After John Sutherland Sinclair had given formal evidence, Defective Lean said that accused hud admitted to him that .ho had misappropriated the moneys, and had made and signed the statement. In this statement were revealod tho fact that about £IOO of the stolen money had beon spent on taxi drives and amusements.

On the 29th April Brockie began his joy riding by engaging a taxi to drive him to Port Chalmers. This cost him £l. At the seaport he purchased goods to tho value of £24 ss. The drive back to_ Dunedin used up £1 10s. Arriving in town the youth engaged a taxi-car owner named Alexander Nelson Thyberg to drive him to Christchurch, the fare arranged being £3O. In payment of this Brockie handed Thyberg one of the purloined cheques; a Government cheque for £222 4s 6d, asking the taxi man to change it for him. This Thyberg did at the Bank of NewZealand, and handing Brockie the money, received the £3O. Christchurch was reached at 6 a.m. next day after a few hours rest on the road beyond Ashburton, "The taxidriver and his wife sleeping in the back of the motor, while he (the passenger) walked about the road." More motoring was indulged in by Brockie in Christchurch, and he stayed the night at the Cafe de Paris under the name of Harry Roberts. Between the time he left Dunedin and the time of his arrest he spent about £4G (exclusive of motor hire) on amusements and in the purchase of several articles of clothing, etc., Some of the cheques, which had not been cashed, also a number of the purchased articles would be recoverable, while a sum of £lB7 lGs was found in the accused's possession when he was arrested. Among the articles purchased was portion of a wireless plant and accessories.

The Chief Detective remarked that the taxi drivers had evidently done very well out of the accused during his short " nutter."

The Magistrate: "Yes; there is something very shady about that part of the business.

Accused was then committed for sentence.