RICHES OF A BEGGAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20302, 9 July 1929, Page 10

RICHES OF A BEGGAR.

OVER £SOO IN HANDBAG.

MONEY CARRIED BY WOMAN.

"SAFER THAN IN A BANK,"

[BT TELEGHAPH, —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] GISBORNE, Monday.

Members of tho police forco sue so m;iny and such varied sides of lifci that it takes much to stirpriso an experienced' officer, hut Senior-Sergeant Wade and detectives and constables at tho Gi:',borne police station received on Saturday evening what all agreed was "the shock of their lives."

For some weeks past a midd'.u-aged woman has been annoying residents of Kaiti, a suburb of Gisborne, by bugging from door to door, and numerous complaints were received. On Saturday evening the polico located tho woman a::id she was taken to the polico station, where it was intended to lay a charge of vagrancy. Tho woman denied tho charge and said she had £lO.

Asked to produce it, she said iifc was in her handbag, which proved to bo an old, battered article of black leather, without a catch. Detectives searched the bag and found a tightly-wrapped bundle of bank notes, ranging in value from ten shillings to £2O. These were spread on a table, and to the amazement of all were found to total £570.

In reply to questions the woman said it was her own money, which she had received from a building society in another town, and the information hflis been found to be correct. For probably from four to five months she had carried the money about with her, taking the view that the money was much safer in her possession than in a bank The police sent the woman to the care of a charitable institution. To-day the money was placed in a bank and the woman was sent to relatives.