VALUELESS CHEQUES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 30 November 1934, Page 2

VALUELESS CHEQUES

SERIES OF OFFENCES TERM OF IMPRISONMENT ORDERED Arrested by tho police on 21st November as he was about to board the Matangi for Wellington, Arthur John Joseph Rogers, a married man, aged 29 years, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court this morning before Air T. E. Maunsell, S.AL, to answer a series of charges of issuing cheques with intent to defraud. The charges were as follows :—On 16th November at Westport, with Intent to defraud by means of a certain false pretence, to wit by falsely representing that a cheque drawn by one A. J. Rogers for £4 10s was good and valid order for £4 10s, did obtain one bottle of brandy to the value of 15s and the sum of £1 ss, from John Alfred Daily. On 19th November at Alurchison witli intent to defraud by means of a certain false pretence, by falsely representing that a cheque drawn on the National Bank at Reefton for £1 5s was good and valid for £1 ss, did obtain from Stephen Frederick Alockett board to the value of 16s and the sum of 8s 6d; and a further'charge of similarly obtaining £2 from S. F. Alockett on 20th November.

On 20th November at Alurchison obtained from Murchison Motors Ltd. at Murchison conveyance to the value of £6 by a valueless cheque. On 21st November at Nelson with intent to defraud by representing that a cheque drawn on the National Bank of New Zealand at Reefton for £2l 10s was good and valid to that value did obtain from Thomas Brinn Carpenter £5 13s 9d in money; similarly did obtain from William Wallace Snodgrass goods to tlie value of £3 12s; and tendered a valueless cheques for £5 to Hans Mathias Andresen, receiving 10s. Mr J. R. Kerr represented accused, who pleaded guilty to all the charges. Constable E. F. Smith, who conducted the case for the police, said that accused came out of gaol in Aprif 1933 after serving a term for similar offences to those for which lie now was charged. He returned to bis home and went on relief work. On the 12th inst. be left Christchurch where his home was, and went to the West Coast, where he conmenced convassing for orders on commission for Christchurch -firms. On 16th inst. while at Westport the accused obtained a bottle of brandy valued at 15s and the sum of 25s in money from J. A. Daily, the licensee of Daily’s hotel, by means of a cheque which lie had obtained from another hotel and had filled in for the amount of £4 10s The accused had no bank account. When issuing the cheque to the licensee the accused intimated that he was staying at the hotel that night, but he went on to Reefton where on the following day he opened an account at the National Bank of New Zealand with £3 10s. He was supplied with a cheque book. He opened the account at the bank with the intent of issuing valueless cheques. Before leaving the bank at the time he opened the account the accused drew a cheque for £3, which he cashed at the bank. On the same day lie drew a cheque for 10s for iiar hire leaving- no funds in his account at the Bank. The accused appeared to have stalled drinking at this stage. He went on to- Alurchison Horn Reefton and stayed at the Hampden Hotel. On the 19th inst. lie drew a cheque for £1 5s which lie presented to the licensee of tlie hotel for board pnd received Bs.fid cash, as-change. ..•tOii|tha same , day he induced -the. Sa F. Mockett "to’cash” a cheque "for‘£2. |He knew that his funds at the hank iVere exhausted. After issuing the two cheques to. Alockett the accused decided to come to Nelson, and he hired a special car from Alurchison-Motors \ at the fare of £6. Before leaving Murchison the accused wrote out a cheque for £6, and handed it to the car driver, Berkett, The accused was brought , into Nelson in the special car. At Nelson the car driver ascertained that the cheque for £6 was valueless and the accused told him that he had the money in the post office and he would get enough to meet tlie cheque. On' the following morning, 21st inst., the accused went to the drapery shop of T. B. Carpenter where lie ordered goods to the value of £ls 15s 6d, to be forwarded on to him, and the accused tendered a cheque for £2l 10s in payment. He received change amounting to £5 13s 9d. The accused then went to Snodgrass and Sons and there obtained nine dozen tumblers, for payment of which he tendered a cheque for £3 12s, Od. He then took the tumblers to the Pier Hotel at Port Nelson and sold them to the licensee, Andresen, for a much lower price than Snodgrass’s selling price. The accused later tendered a cheque for £5 to Andx-esen, and received 10s. He was to receive the balance later. He paid Alurchison Motors £4 out of the money- obtained from Carpenter. That evening, Constable Smith continued, lie arrested accused as he was about to board the Mat-angi for Wellington. He had booked a passage under the assumed name of Jamieson. When arrested, his appearance indicated that lie had been drinking. Theaccused had issued seven valueless cheques totalling £43 17s; and had obtained cash and goods to the value of £l7 Os 9d.

Mr Kerr siaid that this was one of the cases where the lot of counsel was unenviable. Mr Kerr made an appeal for accused whose downfall - had been drink, which had spoiled his good intentions of redeeming himself. ' The Magistrate remarked that accused’s besetting sin was dishonesty. He convicted accused and sentenced him to three months imprisonment, to be followed by detention in a' Borstal Institution for reformative purposes for a period not exceeding three years. Accused asked whether the Magistrate wuld substitute hard labour in the •imprisonment term for the reformative detention period, but Mr Maunsell remarked that he had been “had” that way once before.