CHINESE AT VARIANCE

Evening Star, Issue 22261, 12 February 1936, Page 13

CHINESE AT VARIANCE

DISPUTE SETTLED IN COURT DEFENDANT ORDERED TO PAY £276 Finding that the defendant had fraudulently omitted to account for the sum in dispute, Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, ordered Charlie Lor, a Chinese fruiterer, of Mosgiel, to pay George Wong, a Chinese fruiterer, of Dunedin, £276 19s 9d, the _ balance alleged to be due to the plaintiff under a judgment. The plaintiff also alleged that the defendant incurred the _ liability which was the subject of the judgment by fraud, in that he received sums of nioney on terms requiring him to account for them to the plaintiff and that he fraudulently omitted to do so. According to Mr B. S. Irwin, who appeared for Wong, the plaintiff opened a fruit shop at Mosgiel, and put the defendant in charge of it. The _ defendant was to handle all the takings and pay the accounts. This arrangement was carried out for some time, and then the defendant left the employ of the plaintiff and opened an opposition fruit business a tew doors away. It was then discovered that the defendant had omitted to pay the trade accounts. When he left the employ of the plaintiff _ he should have had over £4OO, of which a portion was due to him for wages. The amount due to creditors when Lor gave up the shop was £302. Wong sued Lor for the amount and Lor confessed judgment. A distress warrant was issued and porition of the stock in Lor’s shop was seized. Mr G. T. Bnylee, who represented Lor, said it would be denied that there had been fraud. It could not be said that Wong had been deceived by Lor, as every penny had been' entered in the books kept by Lor. The defendant had a different version for practically everything said by the plaintiff, and it appeared that there would never have been any court proceedings had not Lor started out in opposition to Wong. Efforts had been made to bring about a settlement, but Wong refused to entertain offers made to him. An order was made for the full amount, the magistrate finding that Lor had fraudulently omitted to account for the nioney to Wong. De-