Petrol Reseller Gaoled

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 208, 2 September 1941, Page 2

Petrol Reseller Gaoled

WELLINGTON, Aug. 30.

Imprisonment is tho penalty to be suffered by Robert Paul Tungatt, a Wellington petrol station proprietor, who admitted before Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate ’s Court yesterday that he had on three occasions made falso statements to the Oil Fuel Controller. It was alleged that unauthorised sales of petrol amounting to 1727 gallons had been made in 15 months. Tungatt was remanded for sentenco so that his customers who buy I petrol at his station on license may arrange to buy their petrol elsewhere. ! Sub-Inspector H. R. Lambert said ! that a carrier who had a license to | buy 150 gallons of petrol a month : closed his business without notifying r the authorities, and Tungatt continued Ito draw on tho license, signing the ’ licensee’s name for the petrol. He had brok'

I .£en the regulations previously. I On behalf of Tungatt, Mr. R. Hardic ! Boj’s said that defendant "was | struggling in business in a small wav. i Tho offences began when he had honesT“Ily unaccountable shortages in his I petrol, and ho used tho license that was lying in his premises to make up the ! shortages. Finding he could “get away with it,” he used the license when cus* j tomcrs pressed him to provide them with m.orc petrol than they were eni titled to.

The Magistrate remarked*that it was probably true that a great deal of pressure was brought on petrol resellers by a selfish public. People were more or less torpedoing tho regulations.

Tho Magistrate said that it was a question whether he should not have been charged with the ordinary crime of forgery. For the safety of the country tho Government had decreed that petrol must be rationed and petrol sellers were just ns much public trustees as were bankers, and must discharge their trust. Defendant had deliberately forged a name and broken a trust, which, despito the unfortunate circumstances, could only be punished by a term of imprisonment.