MAORI IMPRISONED

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4803, 28 June 1939, Page 5

MAORI IMPRISONED

CONVERSION OF CAR. DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED. At the Taumarunui Court yesterday, before Messrs. W. Meads and W. Thomas, J.P.’s, Werita Renata (Willie Renata) was charged that on June 24 at Waimiha, he did unlawfully convert a motor car to his own use, the said car being valued at £2OO and being the property of John Arneil; that, on June 24, at Waimiha, he did drive a motor car while in a state of intoxication; that, on June 24, at Waimiha, he did drive a motor car without a driver’s license.

Accused pleaded guilty to the three charges. Sergeant Abel said that accused on Saturday night got drunk and went to the pictures. Mr. Arneil, manager of a timber company, left his car near the picture theatre and when he returned to the place where he left it he found the car gone. Constable MacLennan made inquiries and found that accused had taken the car and had driven it into a water table where it was badly damaged. Accused admitted he was drunk at the time and that he had no driver’s license. Sergeant Abel said these cases were becoming too frequent and an example should be made of this class of man.

The Bench convicted the accused on the charge of being drunk while in charge of a car and sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment and also made an order debarring accused from obtaining a driver’s license for five years. On the charge of conversion accused was convicted and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment, the sentence to be concurrent with the first one. On the charge of driving a car without a license accused was convicted and discharged.