CHARGES OF THEFT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24102, 22 October 1941, Page 9

CHARGES OF THEFT

TAXI-DRIVER ON TRIAL On charges of stealing £4 from David John Burgess and £4 from Noel Beattie, Walter Herbert Shiels, taxidriver, aged 30 (Mr. Sullivan), was tried before Mr. Justice Callan.

Mr. N. I. Smith, who prosecuted, said the changing of a £5 note was involved in each charge. Burgess, a jockey and trainer, would say lie had given accused what he had thought to be a £1 note in payment of fare and received change. He had had a £5 note in his pocket at the time, and lie found it to he missing the next day. Boat.tie was a partially blind soldier and he gave accused what he thought was a £1 note to change in a shop. The shopkeeper would say that he changed a £5 note for accused. Accused gave Beattie £1 in change, but later Beattie missed a £5 note he had had. When evidence on these lines was given, Mr. Sullivan cross-examined with a view to showing that Burgess might have been confused with drink and that he had been in the company of others as well as accused before the note was missing. Accused gave evidence denying that Burgess had given him a £5 note, and stating that the £5 he had changed in the shop after conveying Beattie was his own. He had checked his money and found nothing over. On account of flat contradictions between the evidence of Burgess and his companion. Walters, His Honor advised the jury not to find accused guilty on the first count. He suggested that"one or other, or possibly both, had been deliberately dishonest and had perhaps committed perjury. If he was clear which it was he would regard it his duty to direct the attention of the police to their duty to prosecute for perjury. The second count was a very different matter and would require their very careful attenAftcr a retirement of the full four hours the jury found accused not guilty on the first count, hut could not agree on the second. Application for a new trial was granted, and accused was released on bail