MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Hawera Star, Volume L, 18 December 1930, Page 6

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

THEFT AND FORGERY

ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR

SENTENCE

G eoro-ti Crompton Alansifield was before the -Haw ex a Court yesterday, Messrs IG. A. Burgess and R. S. Sage, being on the bench, on fo.ur charges: .(•!) Of stealing a. postal packet containing cheques from a 1 postal officer, William Rae, bet'weem ilawera and! Ohangai, on or about November 25, IPSO; (2) of the theft of a Meremero Dairy Company’s cheque for £2l 6s 3dl; (3) of Melrose Dairy .Company's chetque for £l6 liSs Id, both parable'to H. Frahm; (4) of endorsing the name of H. Fra him to a. cheque d'rahvrc on the Bahlc of New 'South Wales and of uttering the cheque to A. H. :Shal\v, of 'Hawera. At the request of the police the first charge was withdrawn. Sergeant Henry, for the police, briefly recounted particulars of the circumstances of the charges on which accused' had been arrested whom he reached Auenland.

iMr A. K. Fyson, company secretary, Hawera, gave evidence of the issue of the cheques by Meremere and Melrose Dairy Companies for £2l' 6s 3d and £l6 ItSs Id respectively, payable to 11. Frahm. and marked not negotiable. He stated that on November '24 he had received a message from (Mr Frahm stating that he .had not. received the cheques and said they had been posted in the ordinary way. Henry J. A. Frahm, carrier, of Ohangai, for the two dairy companies named, said his cheques were paid monthly, usually posted, but sometimes caTled for at Mr Fyson’s office. He said that the cheques produced were not. cashed by him or with his authority, and the endorsement on the one was not his handwriting. It was, lie sgud, his name but not his signature, lie did not. know accused and no person .had! authority to sign for him and he did not knew how the cheques came into the possession of accused. David Btrachan gave evidence that the first time he ha'd seen' ae'euseVl' was when he came into the shop of Mr YV. F. Evans, by whom he was employed. A'Ccused purchased goods to the value of £M 12s sd! receiving in change £2 os &d, out of a cheque of the Melrose Dairy Company for £l'G jIISW Id, payable to H. Frahm. He noticedi afterwards the cheque was not endorsed and, after telephoning (Mr Fysoh’s office, found accused) at Somerset House and on demand, received the clothes back and hrs- cash. 'He then refused: to return the cheque and communicated with the police. He said, in answer to accused, that he had omitted to get the endorsement, a mistake lie rarely made. Arthur IT. Shaw, mercer, of Hawera, said' accused came into his 1 shop and asked if he could change a. cheque, producing the Meremere'Company’s cheque for £2l 6s 3d. He saw it was not- endorsed and accused endorsed the cheque ‘‘H. Frahm” in liis presence. He. said accused purchased goods to the value of £3 9s 6d, receiving im change £5 and ■his own cheque for £l2 'l6s Pd, which was cashed at flic Bank of New Zealand. He had not received back the goods or the cash. Constable Frank iLemm produced a statement made voluntarily by accused, in which he said ho got the cheques from a swagger near 'Ohangai who asked! him if he .could) do anything with the 1 cheques. Accused made no further statement 1 and pleaded guilty and was committed I for Sentence to the iSiipreme Court in Wellington.