CHRISTCHURCH SHOPLIFTERS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 71, 7 March 1923, Page 3

CHRISTCHURCH SHOPLIFTERS.

ALL SENT TO GAOL. Christchurch, March 6. The purloining career of live persons, four in one family and a fifth, a young woman engaged to one of the sons, canu to an end to-day, when Francis Alice I Cairns, 39, May Chaney, 27 (sisters); Grace Pearce, 23 (engaged to one of the male accused), and Stanley Alan Mil-1 lor, David Gordon Miller (sons of the Homnn Cairns), appeared before Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M. The males wore in rue dock and the women lined up in front. The thefts were of a varieij nature, from Hallenstein Bros., the D.1.C., and Strange and Company, and included patent leather shoes, silk stockings, rubber dolls, shampoo lotion nnd articles of clothing. These were the spoils of raids made during sales. The Magistrate said: “Here we have live persons, four linked together and one engaged to one of the men. All plead guilty to shoplifting. It is a mean and contemptible class of theft, often difficult to detect and apt to bring discredit and suspicion on innocent folk. I cannot look on the offence in a light manner. lam sorry for the mother of the accused Chaney. Each will be sentenced to one month’s imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to be concurrent.” As sentence was pronounced Chancy and Cairns collapsed in a faint, and were carried from the court.