THEFT OF £1330

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 December 1933, Page 5

THEFT OF £1330

POSTAL CLERK’S EVIDENCE. MELBOURNE, December 5. Harold Jack, 38, postal clerk, of Brighton, who pleaded guilty to a charge of converting to his own use £1330, the property of the Commonwealth Government, gave a remarkable account at-his trial in the General Sessions to-day of how he dis' posed of the money. The amount represented Commonwealth pension money. Jack said ho gave the driver of a taxi-cab £7O “to drive and keep on driving.” He arrived in a town in New South Wales and began to give money away. In a train he gave a soldier £3O and another £2O. He intended to buy an aeroplane and to fly to the goldfields in Papua, but he changed his mind because the money went. He fell in with confidence men in Sydney, and they took £4OO. He arrived back in Melbourne penniless. Mr. Gorman, K.C., who appeared for

Jack, told Judge Woinarski that Jack, who had been a senior postal clerk in the Prahran post-office, had been about £2 16s short in cash on March 29 last. He went to the bank with the postmaster, who cashed cheques foi £2600 to be paid to pensioners on the following day. Jack -was left with! the money. Later, he said he was sick, and was allowed to go home. He was’not seen in Melbourne again for six months. It was found that £1330 J was missing. Mr. Gorman said that Jack had a good record in the war. No one who knew Jack at the war was suipiised

when he appeared on this charge. He was repatriated to Australia and medical papers showed that he had since tbeen constantly under treatment by doctors. His Honor said he was convinced that when Jack took the money he knew that he was doing wrong. It was the duty of the Court to the community, and to other Public servants in charge of money, to impose a deterrent sentence. Jack was sentenced to imprisonment for three years, and an order was made that he should make restitution of the money to the Commonwealth Government.