COURT NEWS

Grey River Argus, 8 April 1927, Page 6

COURT NEWS

£lO,OOO by Blackmail. ARMY CAPTAIN VICTIMISED. LONDON, April 6. One of the most amazing cases in history of blackmailing was revealed at Bow Street, when four men wen charged with obtaining £10,859 from : retired army captain, whose name was not disclosed. After a visit to a theatre, the capzain was inveigled to a bedroom in London, where two men immediately secured £5O under threat of calling in police. Thence forward others of the gang secured £95 for a passage to Algeria and £2O on plea of his wife being ill, then £2OO for the wife’s funeral expenses. The demands continued throughout 1925, including £lOO as passage money for two men to Australia. Finally a so-called Detective Lynch appeared, and philanthropically promised to deal with the blackmailers, but quickly demanded £1,150, then £2OOO, until the cheques aggiegated £lO,OOO. The cast* was adjourned. UNREGISTERED WIRELESS.

FEILDING, April 7. For being in possession of an un registered wireless set, Donald Styles (Kimbolton) was to-day fined 3 with £2 12/- costs. ATTEMPT TO STEAL CHEQUE. WELLINGTON, April 7. Herbert Cecil Loveday, 32, music teacher, winner of the recent North Island shouting championship, was remanded till to-morrow for sentence, at the Magistrate’s Court, for at tempting to steal a cheque for £45 5/2. He picked it up in a letter dropped by a messenger. ‘ ‘ LUCKY ’ ’ TEA SET LOTTERY. CHRISTCHURCH, April 7 Reserved judgment was given by Mr Mosley, S.M., fFiis morning in the ca-o in which Reginald Henry Stillwell. mercer, High Street, was charged with an offence under the Gaming Act. Defendant was convicted and a nonimal penalty was inflicted. The magistrate remarked that the main reason why action had been taken was to advertise the fact that such schemes as Stillwell had promoted were illegal. The charge concerned a lottery arranged by Stillwell who gave number cd dockets to customers, the prize be ing a tea set.

BOOKMAKING CHARGES PALMERSTON N., April 7. Frank Dean and Joseph Daniel Carthy were, arrested to-day on a charge of using their premises as a common gaming house. They wen remanded to appear on Monday next. Bail was allowed. CHARGE OF RAPE. CHETSTCIIURCH, April 7. Stanley Albert .Millar, a barmanporter, who was charged with having committed a grossly indecent act on April 3 in an hotel right-of-way, apj eared before Mr Mosley, S.M., today, and was remanded to appear next Tuesday, after the original charge had been replaced by two others. The charge's against the girl in the case were' withdrawn. Millar is now charged with having committed rape on a girl (name sup pressed) on April 3, and further with having indecently assaulted toe same girl. Bail was refused. DOCTOR’S DaSQUALIFICATION SOUGHT. WELLINGTON, April 7 An action is proceeding in the Su prume Court, before Mr Justice Reed in which the Medical Council seeks to have Dr Jacobson, of Wellington, struck ofT the register of medical practitioners, on tho grounds of infamous conduct. The allegation is made that Jacobson gave a child-bearing woman the name and address of Mrs Ncvill and represented that she’ was prepared to procure abortion.

HOTELKEEPER’S LIABILITY. WELLINGTON, April 7. Dismissing charges against Thomas Weatherburn, licensee of the Dominion Hotel, of selling liquor after hours, Mr I’age, S.M., to-day, expressed the opinion that if the barman never had been requested, or permitted, to sell liquor io "boarders or anybody else after hours, then the employer was. not liable to be punished for the action of a servant. LEFT HIS WIFE AN EIGHT CHILDREN. AUCKLAND, April 6. Frederick Arthur Fry (44) might be a good sergeant-major, but according to what his wife said in the Police Court this morning he was not the best of husbands. Fry appeared before Mr P. K. Hunt, S.M., charged with failing to maintain his wife and eight children his wife alleging that he had been gpilty of persistent cruelty. His wife, who nursed a very young child as she stood in the witness box, said that accused was a pensioned sergeant-major of the Imperial Army. Six weeks ago he left her, and said that he was going to Auckland. He told her to send one of the sons into town every Tuesday for money. On the first Tuesday the boy received £5 from his father and took it home, but since then he had not contributed one penny towards the maintenance of the home. Accused was a foreman, or a supervisor, for the Public Works Department.

Fry told Mr Hunt that he had not been working lately, and had no money for himself. Mr Hunt: Would you like to exist for six weeks on a whole £s—No, sir. •‘Well, how do you expect your wife to keep eight children on that for six weeks?” Fry said that he was arrested yesterday when he was drawing his pension, which was £9 per month. That money was at present held by the Court. He

had not been working this last few weeks. “Now, what are you going to do? Will you go back and live with your wife?”—“Yes. sir. But the point is that there arc a lot of things. It is a long story.” Mr Hunt: The point is that I am going to make a maintenance order against you. What do you want to leave your wife for?” Fry: There was trouble with one or the boys at home. ‘‘l will order you to pay £3 10/- to your wife each week. You can pay £8 of the £9 you got for your pension as back maintenance. I won’t make any order for separation just now,” announced the magistrate. Accussed’s wife then asked if she could say a word or two. ‘‘He always Ilves away from home, sir. He will come home for a night, eats the food I obtain by charity, has a bath and a change of clothes, and then goes away for another week. When I ask him where he has been, all he says to me is: ‘‘Mind your own business” and ‘‘Shut your gap.” Aecussed then stated that he lived next door to a Constable. Mr Hunt: It might be a good idea to get the constable to keep an eye on you. Now, don’t run away from your wife. Go home with her.

CANVASSER SENT TO GAOL. AUCKLAND, April 6. A canvasser for enlargements of photographs, Harold Roy Hector Babb (28), was sent to gaol for one month by Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., for assaulting a child aged six years. Babb admitted the chrage when he appeared at the Police Court. Senior-Sergeant Edwards said that accused called at a house in Grey Lynn yesterday. A child of six years was at home and was alone at the time. Babb spoke to her and asked the little girl her age. She replied that she was just six, whereupon accused said, ‘‘You look big for your age.” He then picked her up and kissed her. The girl alleged that Bagg interfered with her clothing, but, of course, there was no proof of this, arid some credence had to be given to accused’s assertion that ho did not interfere with the child. The girl was examined by a doctor, who found that she had not been interfered with. ‘‘However if this sort of thing is allowed to go children will not be safe.” said Mr Edwards.

The senior sergeant then handed to Mr Hunt a card which had been found on accused when he was arrested. “There appears to be nothing much in it until you read it thoroughly,” concluded the police officer. “It shows what is in his mind,!’ replied the magistrate. ARMY OFFICER PROSECUTED. MAG ISTRATE ’S STRAIGHT COMMENT. WELLINGTON April 6. “I have not a relative or friend in tho Dominion, not a soul I can fall back on,” was the statement made in the Magistrate’s Court to-day by a married woman, Hannah Ida Aitchison, in applying for a maintenance order against her husband, Samuel Henry Aitchison, of Wellington, a corporation emplopee. The complainant said that she met Aitchison in England, when he was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps. There were three children of the mar-

riage. He had bought her out to New Zealand, and then deserted her. She declared she had been forced to go out to service to maintain herself, and in spite of repeated requests that her husband should .make a home for her in Wellington, lie had refused to consider the suggestion. Recently he had been left some money, and he proposed to make this over to his mother, who was already well-to-do, and had a large family to support her. The defendant had left her and the The defendant had left her and the three young children penniless in Opunsike last year in order to go and get work, and she had not heard from him for six months. Aitchison said that he had told his wife to wait until he could afford a home, but she was always worrying him. He was in debt, and was paying £4 a month for two of the children, who were in a home. His salary was £4 5s a week. Mr J. H. Salmon, 8. M.: What about the three young children? Has it occurred to you that you might sink your selfish motives for their sake? Are you going to deprive them of a home and allow them to be brought up in a State institut ion ? The defendant did not reply. Mr Salmon: You won’t attempt to make a home for your wife? Defendant: I told her I would do my best, nnd asked her to wait, but she won’t. Mr Salmon: Aitchison, you may have heard the expression, “an officer and a gentleman.” Well, you may have been an officer An order was made for the payment of £1 10s per week.