ALTERATION IN DATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23274, 17 February 1939, Page 16

ALTERATION IN DATE

WARRANT OF FITNESS

FINE OF £lO IMPOSED

Having altered the dnte on the warrant of fitness of his motor-truck so as to niake it appear that it had not expired, Francis Robert Whytoek appeared in the Supreme Court yesterday for sentence on a charge of forgery and uttering. He was represented by Mr. Hamer. Addressing Mr. .Justice Fair, Mr. Hamer said that Whytoek could not be regarded as n forger in the usually accepted sense of the term. A warrant of fitness was not required for a vehicle that was licensed by a competent authority, but unfortunately Whytoek was ignorant of that He had pleaded fuilty to not having p. warrant and ad been fined. The alteration he had made from March to May had been perfectly obvious and had been detected at once.

His Honor said it seemed a very stupid and unnecessary offence. The forgery was unnecessary because the certificate of fitness was unnecesary; but the fact remained that any alteration of a document required to be produced for official purposes was a serious offence. It should be clearly understood that the law could not bo deliberately broken even in minor matters. It might seem trivial, but it might cause a great deal of trouble. Tiie case, added His Honor, would be met by the imposition of a fine, and Whvtock would do fined £lO, to be paid within 14 days, or, in default, 14 days' imprisonment. His Honor took this course in preference to releasing him on probation, because he thought the fine was the lighter punishment.