CHILD'S TRICYCLE STOLEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 14

CHILD'S TRICYCLE STOLEN.

ACCUSED WITH £532. MONEY CARRIED IN BELT. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ROTORUA, Friday. An elderly man, John Dalton, was charged at the Magistrate' Court to-day with stealing a child's tricycle valued at £3. Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., was on the Bench. Accused pleaded guilty. Police evidence stated that a child, seven years of age, we,s playing at Picnic Point on Boxing Day when she missed her tricycle. The arrest of the accused followed, lie had tried to sell the tricyclo privately and later took it to an auction mart for disposal. Accused was a man of peculiar habits. Ho lived in a tent and apparently the life of a miser. On being searched the sum of £532 in notes was found in his possession. lie carried the money in a belt. Council who appeared for the accused, said Ins client seemed a man of eccentric habit. He hud worked on public works for some years previously and had been thrifty, perhaps over-thrifty. He had saved the money referred to and had intended building a homo for himself near Auckland. He had drawn the money from the bank for that purpose. He had not used the money as intended and had come to Rotorua. He had buried it and afterwards had difficulty in recovering it. Only recently ha had found the whole of it. He had no intention of appropriating the tricycle at the time of finding it. Accused was ordered to be placed on probation for two years. Dalton was further charged with making a false statement in regard to employment under the No. 5 scheme. Evidence was given that accused in October of last year failed to disclose the fact that he possessed money when rnnking application for work under the scheme. As a consequence he had receivod £8 2s 7d in wages on relief work. He said he could not obtain work if the authorities knew he had money. His money had been withdrawn from the bank, amounting to ,£532, and part of the time he carried it about with him in a belt.

Counsel said Dalton pleaded guilty. Dallon had been used to filling in forms when applying for employment on public works years ago, and it was possible he had not read the form he had to fill in on Iho present occasion. He was prepared to return the amount paid him. Accused was fined £5 and ordered to refund the amount of wages he had received.