MIDNIGHT ATTACK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23010, 11 April 1938, Page 12

MIDNIGHT ATTACK

BOUND AND GAGGED "■! DAIRYING ACCOUNTANT • THIEVES VISIT OFFICE PAY ROLL NOT TOUCHED [by telegbaph—own correspondent] OPOTIKI, Sunday Attacked by two men at Edgecumbe shortly after midnight yesterday, Mr. K. D. Grant, aged 22, an accountant of the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Compan3 r , Limited, was gagged, bound and robbed of the key to his company s strong room. He did not escape until about three o'clock in the morning, when he telephoned to the Whakatane police. Investigations showed that, although the strong room was unlocked with the stolen key, his assailants had not touched the payroll of £BOO, which was contained in envelopes. Their only gain was £4 10s, which they took from Mr. Grant himself.

After working late at his office, Mr. Grant left for home about midnight. Near the Edgecumbe bakery he encountered a girl of short stature. He was asked whether he had seen a horse along the road and, on answering "No," he was asked whether he would help search for it. Mr. Grant agreed, and together they walked down Douglas Road as far as a gate, which was open. The girl asked him to go in on the chance that the horse had strayed there and, as he went through the gate, he was immediately attacked by two men, who gagged him, and were dragging him toward the river when he fainted. Hands Tied to Feet

Recovering consciousness, he found that his hands were tied to his feet and that he was lying at the foot of a willow tree under the guard of the girl. He struggled into a crouching position, but each time was knocked down again. After hours the two men returned, pushed the blanch of keys into his pocket, and took all the money in his possession. They then loosened the ropes on his hands and went away,'

As soon as he was free, Mr. Grant advised the Whakatane police, who in turn communicated with Mr. R. E. Blair, secretary of the company. Mr. Blair left immediately for the factory, where he found the office door open and the strong room door unlocked, although everything was in apparent order. Signs of a Struggle The scene of the hold-up was inspected at dawn on Saturday morning by Constable T. J. Cummings, of Whakatane. who found evidence of a struggle in the domain gateway, where a half-crown piece was also discovered trampled in the mud. In the afternoon Detective J. McWhirter arrived from Gisborne, but stated this evening that there were no developments. Mr. Grant suffered facial abrasions.