POLICE COURT NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17336, 6 December 1919, Page 13

POLICE COURT NEWS.

OBTAINED CREDIT BY FRAUD. SIX MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT. Two charges of having obtained credit by fraud, by representing • that he owned a farm at Taumarunni, and had a bank account of £7500, were preferred against Thomas Frederick Ellis before "Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday. The first charge was- that he incurred a debt of £13 9s 6d with Priscilla Wheeler for board and nursing by false representation; the second related to a debt of £26 5s with Dr. W. H. Horton, for medical attention. Nurse Wheeler, matron of the Rawhiti Private Hospital, said that on January 4 accused was admitted to undergo an operation by Dr. Horton.. When the first week's account was submitted, the accused told witness he had no ready money, but had £-7500 in the bank at laumarunui. He also represented that ne was a returned Australian soldier, stating that his accounts for medical treatment would have to be sent in duplicate to the Australian Government. On his " farm" at Taumarunui he kept two managers,, and was paying £15 a' week in wages. On February 10 he obtained permission to go out to get the money, but did not return. The accused, in a statement to Constable Meiklejohn, said he was a prisoner awaiting trial on a charge of fraud. He admitted that he neither owned a farm nor had an account for £7500 in anv bank. Dr. Horton said he advised the accused to have his operation at the military hospital, but he replied that all his countrymen had been volunteers, and he did not wish to enter a military hospital in New Zealand. When warned of the expense of private treatment he related a story similar to that told to Nurse Wheeler. An extensive operation revealed no traces of shrapnel. When Dr. Horton stated that he did not ask the accused for a guarantee of his own fee, but only for the payment of Nurse Wheeler, the magistrate" said the second charge would have to be withdrawn. The accused then pleaded guilty to the first charge. His record showed that he had thirty previous; convictions, and was at present undergoing three years imprisonment. The magistrate imposed a further period of six months imprisonment. LINEN STOLEN FROM HOSPITAL. Theft of a sheet worth 15s, the property of the Auckland Public Hospital, and of five sheets and 15 towels, worth £7 16s, the property of some person unknown, was alleged by the police in charges against Alfred Herbert (Mr. Singer). The evidence showed that the accused had been employed as a cook at the hospital from 1911 to 1916, and had a room there. The acting-manager identified one sheet as hospital property by the brand on it. The other five sheets" and the towels, which were of similar quaKty to those used in the institution, each had a small patch where the hospital brand was usually placed. The accused pleaded guilty to each charge, and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.

YOUTH SENT TO GAOL. " This young man, who is only 20, has an exceedingly bud record," said ChiefDetective McMahon, after William Joseph Palmer had pleaded guilty to haying stolen a pair of riding breeches worth 12s 6d from Charles Vuiyasawa. Accused took the trousers from the informant's room during the latter's absence. When Vuiyasawa saw the accused wearing his clothes he taxed him with the , theft, whereupon the accused adopted an insolent attitude and offered to fight Yuiysawa. The magistrate sentenced accused to imprisonment for 14 days. IMPRISONED FOR VAGRANCY. " This unfortunate woman is one of our social problems," said Sub-Inspector Wohlmann, in referring to Florence Elsie Neville, who admitted drunkenness and vagrancy. She had been released from gaol recently, and soon after had been, found wandering in the city at night, only partially dressed, frequently accosting pedestrians. A sentence of three months' imprisonment was imposed. - THEFT DUE TO POVERTY. Leniency towards the accused characterised the statement which Chief-Dectec-tive McMahon made with reference to the misdemeanours of Alice Farrell, a middleaged woman who admitted the theft of clothing and small articles of house furniture, of a total value of £3 6s, from various owners. She had stolen the articles while working. She gave as a reason that she and her family were in very poor circumstances, and when she had seen no hope»of paying her bills she took to stealing. The -detective said he had verified that statement. The articles had all been recovered. The magistrate recorded a conviction and ordered the woman to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months. ALLEGED ENTERING AND THEFT. A charge of having broken and entered the warehouse of Cunningham and Co., Ltd., in Albert Street, on Wednesday night, and of having stolen therefrom 10 cases of whisky, was preferred, against William James Courtney (Mr. A- Moody), aged 34. It is understood that on Thursday morning two broken windows were found in the warehouse, and investigation showed that the whisky had been stolen. According to the police report the accused had been dismissed from employment in the warehouse two or three days before the alleged burglary occurred. On -- the application of counsel, a remand until next week was granted. Bail in one surety of £125 was allowed.