ROBBED HIS COMRADES

Nelson Evening Mail, 16 May 1917, Page 6

ROBBED HIS COMRADES

SOLDIER, [PLEADS GUILTY. . " LONDON. May 1. An Australian soldier has been tried IbvT court-martial on a charge, to -which he pleaded; guilty, of robbing the Pai-k----house (Post Office of £3O, and stealing £BOO from the A.I.F. iPost Office, London. The sentence is to be promulgated. Thp accused urged that he might- not • '{be sent to prison, and said: "If you cannot sendi me to France, let me pay the penalty against the wall." The robibery in (London was one of great daring. The T>erpetrator climbed a 40ft pipe and spent five hours' extracting money from Commonwealth "Bank : envelopes. .Detectives ißrennan' and Pearce, acting in conjunction -with military officials, cleverly, tra-ced and recovered the money from a ■woman who was co-operating with the eoldier. Subsequently the latter from the lock-up, but was re-arrested within an hour. He was formerly employed in a post office in Egypt. These Australian detectives went to Egypt shortly after the outbreak of war, and did intelligence work. After the Galli- ■ • poll campaigh they weTe transferred to Eondon, -where the'ir duties have consist. ©d- df looking after the Australian soldiers and seeing that they were not victimised, and attending to any offences committed by members of the A.I.F.