GOODS FROM EGYPT

Grey River Argus, 14 May 1943, Page 6

GOODS FROM EGYPT

Soldier Charged INCIDENTS AT MAADI IN 1942.

AUCKLAND, May 13. A soldier, who left New Zealand with the Third Echelon, and returned home last December, was charged in the Police Court, to-day, with obtaining at Maadi, Egypt, a Persian rug, table-cloths and napkins, cutlery and silver goblets, of a total value of £lOO, _by an act which if done in New Zealand would have amounted to theft, and that in December he brought such articles into New Zealand. The charge was the first of the kind ever brought in a New Zealand Court. The soldier’s name was suppressed pending his appearance in the Supreme Court. An unusual feature of tire case was the absence of any evidence of the complainants who live at Maadi. The only witness called was a Detectivesergeant, who located and interviewed the accused on March 25. The accused pleaded guilty and was committed for sentence to the Supreme Court. In an explanation to the police, accused said that in July,. 1942, when things were in a very serious position in the Middle East, and everyone expected Cairo and Alexandria to be taken by the enemy at any moment, most of the Jewish population left Egypt, and complainants, a man and wife, who quitted their home in a hurry, asked accused to look after their effects. Accused and another Private packed and checked the larger effects and employed natives to cart the goods away. A list was kept. In October, when the military position was easier, the effects were returned to the complainants’ home, except the goods mentioned in the charge. He thought the . complainants would not be returning to their home, and was not aware of their return until informed of the fact by the police. . ,