SONS ASSAULT FATHER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20929, 20 July 1931, Page 11

SONS ASSAULT FATHER.

V/ISIT HOUSE WHEN DRUNK. FRACAS ENDS IN FINES. As a result of a family fracas at Pahiatua on a recent evening, two brothers, Reginald Arthur Futcher and Herbert Futcher,' appeared before Mr. J. Miller, S.M., last week charged with assaulting their father, behaving in a disorderly manner, using indecent language, and with wilfully breaking a window. Constable F. Burrell said that the two brothers were living away from home, and seemed to have had some sort of grievance against their father. On the evening in question they were intoxicated, and went to their parents' house. Their mother was in the kitchen and when she saw they were intoxicated she told them to go away. They went out on to the pavement and commenced throwing stones on to the front verandah. They both moved on to the verandah and broke two windows of a room in which their father was sleeping, and were forcing the front door when the father, only half clad, met them in the passage. A fight started in the passage and continued out on to the pavement. The constable said he was summoned and arrived to see one of the defendants and the father struggling on the ground. The mother was on the footpath calling out in great distress, and she had had her elbow dislocated. Defendants had cuts on their hands and there was blood everywhere. The constable took both youths and the mother in a taxi for medical attention. The father received bruises to. the side of the face, and his eyes were "bunged up." However, he thought the sons got the worst of it as they were drunk. ■* The magistrate said that he would take into consideration that the constable had given the youths a good character, and had said that the assault would not have occurred had they been sober. Each defendant was fined £4 for assault, in default three weeks' imprisonment. On the other charges they were convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months, a condition being that each take out a prohibition order.