Fined £20 For Selling Beer Without License

Northern Advocate, 13 May 1940, Page 8

Fined £2O For Selling Beer Without License

In four months in Whangarei an extensive sly-grog selling business had been established. Senior-Sergeant A. Henderson said this when conducting the case for the police against Paul Yovich, boardinghouse keeper, who was charged in the Whangarei Court this morning with having sold liquor without a license. Yovich, a married man with one child, rented a small building in Walton Street where he kept one or two boarders, stated Mr Henderson. The premises had been kept under observation by the police, and men had been seen coming away showing signs of intoxication and some with bottles protruding from their pockets. In two hours on one Saturday evening 28 men had been seen to enter the premises and 22 to leave. Most of the liquor business was done in the evenings after the hotels had closed, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings, and on Sundays. Haul of Beer. When the premises were searched under warrant on April 26, a total of 154 (full bottles of beer were found, and 43 freshly emptied bottles were on .a bench in the kitchen. Altogether, 73 empty bottles were found. Five men were on the premises and each had an opened bottle of beer in front of him. Inquiries had revealed that Yovich had purchased approximately 57 dozen or 684 pint bottles of beer from February 27 to April 26. Yovich had admitted he had been selling liquor. “He said that times were hard,” said Mr Henderson. “He had a big rent to pay and had few boarders and had sold a few bottles to help.” Nothing previously had been known against Yovich who had shown between £l6 and £l7 to the police. Yielded to Temptation. Yovich, who was naturalised, had never been previously in trouble, said Mr R. K. Trimmer. The boarding-house had been a bad venture and he had yielded to temptation. As it was quite a while since a case of this description had occurred in Whangarei, and as Yovich had previously borne an excellent character, he asked for a light penalty. The magistrate (Mr, Ferner) imposed a fine of £2O and costs. An order for the forfeit of the liquor was. made, the magistrate instructing that it should be sold. Charged with having been found on the premises, Herbert Baker, Harry Henderson, James Markotich and Stewart Redvers Watts were each fined £1 and costs. The case against Lance Hore, who was similarly charged, was adjourned.