SALESMAN CONVICTED OF FALSE PRETENCE

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7135, 5 February 1930, Page 11

SALESMAN CONVICTED OF FALSE PRETENCE

Valueless Cheque Passed THREE MONTHS HARD LABOUR, THE SENTENCE PREVIOUS RECORD. i ' . '■. ; “If you had had a clean record, notwithstanding tliat this is not the only cheque passed—you seem to have had a regular orgy of passing cheques—l would have been prepared to stretcu tho law and give you probation. I was careful noMo let the jury know that you had been sentenced to two years’ reformative detention for forgery in 1919 and again, in the same year, that you had been convicted of theft. In view of these previous crimes and that your record is not a clean one, I am sorry that I cannot grant you probation. At the same time, I do not propose to impose a hard sentence,” said his Honour, Mr. Justice Ostler, in the Supreme Court in Palmerston North yesterday, when sentencing a motor salesman named Angus Gordon Foster to three months’ hard labour on a charge of obtaining money from Ford Motors (Manawatu) by means of a valueless cheque. Foster was found guilty after a hearing lasting tho greater part of the day. The jury was in retirement only a quarter of an hour. Mr. F. H. Cooke,l Crown Prosecutor, conducted the case for the Crown and Mr M. H. Oram defended Foster s plea of not guilty. The following jury was empanelled:— Joseph Smith (foreman), E. T. Jones, T. Bomlcy, W. R. Boss, K. Kershaw, A. Lund, W. &• Nieholls, P. W. Hansen, F. Dmnie, H. T,. Collinson, F. Clausen and A. Low.

The Crown’s Case. Mr. Cooke, in outlining tho case, stated that \ho accused had called at tlie premises of Ford Motors Ltd. m Eangitikei street on January 2. Foster had stated that he wished to pay a small account for £1 13s 5d and after some conversation, had written out a cheque for £7 13s sd. In return, he had received a receipted account for £1 13s 5d and £6 change. This cheque, which had been drawn on the Commercial Bank in Palmerston North, had subsequently been returned, marked “no account,” As a result of inquiries, accused had been arrested and when accosted by a detective, had endeavoured to destroy two cheque foi ms which he had been carrying on ms person and which he admitted to be valueless. „, , „ . The first witness was Ralph Rowbot tom, clerk in the employ ot lord Motors Ltd. He stated that Foster had paid him a cliequo, drawn on the Commercial Bank and had received a receipt for an account of £1 13s 5d and £6 in change. Foster had stated that ho was in Palmerston North on business for General Motors Ltd and that ho had had his account with the Commercial Bank transferred from Wellington to Palmerston North. As prom that he had money in the bank, Foste had produced a letter, which witness had taken to be from tho manager of the Wanganui branch of the Comme cial Bank to the manager of the Pal merston North branch and Foster. He had not read the letter very closely, as fce. knew Foster. Ho knew that accused had been in the em ploy of General Motors Ltd. Letter of Introduction.

Mr Oram produced a letter of introduction from the manager of the Wanganui branch of the Commercial Bank to the Wellington manager of the bank, in which Foster was named. Witness stated that this looked like the letter accused had showed io him. In reply to a question from his Honour. jvitness stated that he had not been induced by accused’s statements to cash the cheque. He had believed him to be in the employ of General Motors and he knew that his firm had had previous transactions with him._ Selwyn' Ferguson Taylor, a clerk in the Commercial Bank in Palmerston North, deposed that accused had called, at the bank before Christmas and had obtained three cheque forms. He had produced a letter from the manager of the bank’s Wanganui branch as proof of identity. Foster had stated that he had an account with the bank at Wanganui. Surprised-

Details of investigations made in connection with the case, weie given by Detective Edward Barling. Witness had accosted accused and had told him that ho was to be charged with issuing a valueless cheque to Ford Motors. Accused had stated that he had been worried by business matters but had just obtained a job in Hawera. Foster had further stated that he was surprised that the cheque had been dishonoured, as he had had an account with the Palmerston North branch ot the Commercial Bank.

Cheques Destroyed. In reply to a question, accused had stated that he had no cheques or cheque form's on his person. Witness had then arrested him and had taken him across the road to pick up a bicycle. When crossing the road, accused had endeavoured to destroy a cheque but witness had observed his action and had passessed himself of the pieces. In the police station, Foster had endeavoured to destroy another cheque. Later, he had admitted that both of these cheques were valueless cut had stated that he had paid both amounts in full. The detective then read a statement which he had taken from accused, in which he stated that his account with the Wanganui branch of the Commercial Bank in Wanganui had only contained sufficient, since September, % to keep it open. He also had an account kept open in Wellington and expected that the proceeds of some securities would be paid into this. He did not think this had been done at the time of making the statement, however. He had no account in Palmerston North and had omitted to cross out the words ‘ * Palmerston North” on the cheque form.

• This closed the' case for the Crown. Case For Defence. Mr. Oram intimated that he did not propose to call evidence but to take the rather unusual course of placing accused in the box and giving him an

opportunity of himself explaining “this unfortunate transaction” with Ford Motors. The basis of the Crown’s case was proof of an intent to defraud and if after hearing Foster's evidence, tho jury formed the opinion that ho had made an unfortunate mistake, without criminal i#tent, they could find him not guilty. Accused’s movements after issuing the cheque were such as to indicate that he had had no expectation of trouble. Men who issued valueless cheques with intent, did, not carry on their usual mode of life, as Foster had done.

Accused In Box. Mr. Oram then put Foster in the box. In evidence, accused stated that ho had gone to Ford Motors on January 2 to purchaso benzine for his car. He had paid the benzine account in cash and it had then occurred to him that he had a small account still outstanding with Ford Motors. Ho had gone into tho office and interviewed the witness Eowbottom with reference to it. When he had gone into the garage he had had no intention of paying the account but when ho had remembered it, he had decided to settle. .Eowbottom had remembered tho amount of tho account which was £1 13s 5d and witness had written a cheque for £7 13s 5d on a loose chequo form which he had purchased from the Commercial Bank of Australia in Palmerston North. He had made the cheque out for a larger amount than that of the account, as ho required change. Ho had felt it incumbent upon him, as the cheque was on a loose form, to produce some proof that he had an account with the Commercial Bank. To this end he had shown Eowbottom a letter from the manager of tho Wanganui branch or tho bank and had laid it upon the’desk for him to read. Witness had stall been writing the cheque when a'garage attendant had come in and told him that his cay was ready and standing in front of the pump. He had hurriedly finished writing the cheque and taking his letter, and receipt had gone out to his car and proceeded on bis way to Wellington. The first intimation of anything wrong had come to him at Hawera, when his wife had rung him up from Wellington to toll him that his cheque had been returned to Ford Motors, Manawatu.. He denied that he had told Detective Barling that he had had an account with the Commercial Bank in Palmerston North. It was truo that he had had twe cheques in his possession which he had not wished the police or anyone else to see. Both of these cheques, however, he had paid in full immediately they had been returned. He had told Detective Barling that he had intended to open an account in Palmerston North. This was a fact, but ho had altered his intention, as his headquarters had been moved from this town.

Cheques Returned. In replying to Mr. Cooke, witness denied that he had told Rowbottom that ho had transferred his account to Palmerston North. Ho had purchased tho three cheque forms to pay throe separate accounts in Palmerston North. Two of these cheques had been returned but he had subsequently paid the amounts to the bank. He admitted that a number of cheques he had given prior to his arrest, had been dishonoured.

Mr. Cooke: Now when you were giving all these cheques, Foster,_ you knew that they would not bo -paid?—l did not know that.

But in your statement to the police, you say that there was only sufficient money-in your Wanganui account after September to keep it open. Is the statement untrue? —Well not exactly. Is it untrue? —Well, yes, it is untrue. I did not know that I had mentioned September. Were you pretty hard up about this time; you were not earning anything? —I was not earning anything but I was not exactly hard up. . Did you pawn your watch in Wellington on January 9?—Yes. You must have been hard up, then?— I. thought it better to do that than borrow money. It was my own property. His Honour: It was better than paying by cheque. The Judge continued: ‘'You told us that you went up to Hawera on January 12 and that you disclosed all your liabilities to the firm with which you" were seeking employment. You stated that the list of your debts was iu that firm’s office. Was the amount pwing to Ford Motors included in that list?—“Yes.” ' ' ' , His Honour: But you have told us that you did not know your cheque in payment of that account would not be met. If you placed it on the list as a. liability, that shows you knew it Would not be honoured. Witness then retracted his previous statement and stated that he did not think he had placed the. debt to Fora Motors upon his list of liabilities. Natural Mistake Pleaded.

This closed the case and counsel addressed the jury. Mr. Oram contended that accused had acted in good faith throughout and that he had made a perfectly natural mistake in forgetting to cross out Palmerston North on the cheque form and make the document payable from Wanganui. He asked the jiiry to remember that the cheque which was the subject of the charge had not been sent to Wanganui and that there was nothing to prove that it would not have been paid by that branch. They had no reason to disbelieve accused when he stated that, he had made arrangements in Wanganui to ensure that his cheques would be met. Mr. Cooke, on the other hand, put it to the members of the jury that judged on accused’s answers in the box and the contradictions in which he had become involved, his evidence could be regarded as largely untrue. He put it to them that accused’s actions had been those of a guilty man when he had torn up the cheques which, he had on his person when arrested. He put it to them further, that accused had had no money in the Wanganui, Palmerston North or Wellington branches of the Commercial Bank. Mr. Oram had argued that the cheque would have been paid if it had been presented in Wanganui.' Why, then, had Mr. Oram not taken the obvious course and called a branch official to prove this? His Honour, in his summing up, pointed out to the jury that the Crown must prove that accused, when he gave the cheque to the Ford Motors, had known that it would not be met. In that connection, they had Foster’s own statement made of Ms own free will. Accused had placed it in writing that

ha bad only had sufficient money in his Wanganui account to keep it open after September. If this was so, accused must have known that tho cheque could not be met in Wanganui. Eowbottom had not appeared in any way biassed in his evidence, yet he remembered clearly that accused had represented him-, self as in tho. employ of General Motors. On Foster’s admission, this could not be true, as he had stated that ho had left that firm’s employ previous to that date. Foster had surroptiously endeavoured, to destroy two cheques, which had also been valueless. One of these cheques, drawn about the same time as the subject of the charge, had been altered from Palmerston North to "Wanganui; they must tako this fact into account when considering accused’s statement that on tho chequo he had given Ford Motors, ho had forgotten to alter tho place of presentation in the same way. The fact that accused had paid the money back could not have any influence in deciding his guilt or otherwise. After a brief retirement, the jury returned with a verdict of guilty.