COURT NEWS

Grey River Argus, 31 July 1940, Page 3

COURT NEWS

£5O Fine FOR DRUNKEN DRIVER CHRISTCHURCH, July 30. A fine of £5O, in default two months’ imprisonment, was imposed on Frederick William Withell (Mr A. C. Brassington, for being intoxicate ed in charge of a motor-car. He was stated to have teen convicted for a similar offence in 1937. I Detective-Sergeant J. McClung said] that Withell was seen almost to col-! lide with another car in Ferry Road by Inspector P. Lunn, of the City Council traffic staff. He was examined at the police station, and certified unfit to drive. ■ Mr Brassington asked that a term of imprisonment should not be imposed, as the previous offence had| been merely a technical one, in that; he was merely sitting in the car. On I the present occasion he had swerved to avoid a woman who had stepped off the pavement. Liquor had affected him because of illness. The Magistrate said that it was his custom to impose a term of imprisonment for a second offence. The matter was becoming far too serious at the present time. After standing down the case for consideration, the Magistrate said that although he would not say that it had been an invariable rule to imprison intoxicated motorists, it had been his practice to do so. He would, however, take counsel’s representations into consideration, but the fine would be commensurate with the usual practice. Withell was forbidden to hold a license for three, years. FALSE PRETENCES CHARGE CHRISTCHURCH, July 30. Ernest Clement O’Malley (Mr F. D. Sargent) was remanded till August 5 on two charges of theft and two charges of false pretence. Bail was renewed in the accused’s own recognisance of £lOO, with one surety of £lOO. The allegations were as follows:—Committing theft by fraudulently omitting to account for a cheque of £5O, received from Jessie Gillies, to the Australian Provincial Assurance Association, Wellington; committing theft by . fraudulently omitting to account for £5 17s 3d, received from Samuel William Higgins, to the same company; obtaining £4 15s from Reginald J’ohn Scholium by means of a valueless cheque; obtaining £4 19s 6d from Annie Blaney by means of a valueless cheque. Edwin Samuel Bosher was remanded till August 8 on a charge of obtaining £1 19s 6d from Eric Gray by falsely representing that he was authorised by Johnson, Sons, and Company, Dunedin, to collect moneys due and allow 10 per cent, discount.

Youth’s Fraud OF PATRIOTIC BENEFIT NEW PLYMOUTH, July 29. Dictating letters to his “secretary” in the lounge of a New Plymouth hotel, where he obtained credit for board and lodging by fraud to the value of £9 6s 9d, and dictating further letters in a hairdressing saloon while having a permanent wave in his hair were some of the devices of Neil Oliver. Moore, a youth of not quite 19 years, in an endeavour to create an atmosphere about himself, his munificence and wealth, as part of the process of publishing a booklet entitled “Our New Zealand,” the proceeds of which were to go to the “Soldiers’ Benefit League.” The typewriter used by the “secretary” was obtained, together with some stationery, from a local firm on credit, and the machine was sold the same day to a second-hand dealer for £2 10s. The scheme miscarried, and the result was the appearance of the accused this morning on remand before Mr W. H. Woodward, S.M., on a series of charges, on which he was ! admitted to probation for tvVo years and three months, until he reaches the age of 21, and he was ordered to make restitution of £l5 5s 9d.

The charges involved being idle and disorderly, no lawful means of support, stealing a typewriter, obtaining credit for board and lodging by fraud, unlawfully raising money for patriotic purposes, and incurring other debts by fraud. Accused pleaded guilty to all charges. The police said he engaged a young girl as secretary and also men to canvass for advertisements. His staff was obtained through the placement officer. He stayed at the hotel under the name of van Ashe, and he had' been known in Palmerston North by the name of de Castro. TWO DRIVERS IMPRISONED. AUCKLAND, July 30. “It is a most unpleasant task to deal with respectable men with family responsibilities, out the public must be protected. Unless there are unusual circumstances the penalty is imprisonment,”, said the Magistrate (Mr A. M. Morling) at the Police Court when seven days’ imprisonment was imposed on . Bertram Augustus Hugh Buscomb, 55, gardener and Hedwin Arthur William Swenson, 46, farmer for being in a state of intoxication while in charge of motor vehicles.

The police said that Buscomb ran a motor-cycle on a road roped off for repairs, and he was observed to be intoxicated. Swenson’s car h!t a safety zone in Queen Street, and was driven into a side street, where Swenson was found in an intoxicatca condition. Both the licenses were cancelled for twelve