FINES IMPOSED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 44, 21 January 1936, Page 12

FINES IMPOSED.

WIRELESS ON RACECOURSE. SYDNEY, Jan. 20. A sequel to the discovery of a portable transmitting set on a man at the Rosehill racecourse was the conviction in the Magistrate’s Court of Rufus Theodore Naylor, aged 52, investor; Charles Rowles, aged 26, radio mechanic; Bertie Shceley, aged 47, clerk; and Walter Bedford, aged 25, mechanic. The cases had been adjourned pending the recent High Court judgment on the validity of the Wireless Telegraph Act. Bedford Was fined £5 with £7 15s costs for having, without authorisation, used an appliance for transmitting messages by wireless. Naylor, Rowles and Sheeley were charged with having been concerned in Bedford’s offence. Naylor was fined £5 and Sheeley and Rowles £2 each. All three were ordered to pay £2 10s court costs.

On a similar charge, Eric Gordon, aged 32. pleaded not guilty and was remanded. The prosecution stated Bedford, who had a transmiting set strapped to his body, sent information from the racecourse to a spot outvi.de whore there was a receiving set and a broadcasting set belonging to the radio station 2KY. ’ The defence stated defendants had good grounds for believing they were acting within their rights, but after the High Court’s decision had come to court at the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.

A Sydney messuge of Aoril 6 last said : Official radio inspectors have lately been intrigued by mysterious messages transmitted from suburban racecourses, and have adopted all sort? of means for discovering the delinquent. Their efforts were rewarded at the Rosehill course when, with the aid of a vest-pocket shortwave detector, a man was observed behaving suspiciously and constantly fidgetinol with his pocket in the sadd.ing paddock. Police, acting in concert with the radio inspectors, searched the man and allegedly found a most- ingenious transmitting sets with aerial and battery strapped to his body. Two other men were later discovered in possession ol a miniature receiving set located near the broadcasting stand outside the course.