THEFT ADMITTED

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24195, 10 February 1942, Page 2

THEFT ADMITTED

YOUNG MAN FOR SENTENCE Charged with the theft on Christmas Eve of £lO6 in cash and three cheques to the value of £4 from National Distributors, Limited, Alan Giles Peter Fairbrother, aged 21, engineer, pleaded guilty before justices of the peace yesterday. Accused, who was arrested in Christchurch, joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force on December 28, and appeared in uniform in Court. In a statement made in Christchurch and produced by the police, accused said he had been employed as a storeman in the warehouse of National Distributors, Limited, and on December 24 had assisted at a Self-Help grocery store owned by the company at Surrey Crescent. At 2.45 p.m. tne manager of the store gave him a bank pass book, some money and some cheques and told him to bank the money at the Newton branch of the Bank of New Zealand. While in the tramcar accused said he gave in to a sudden impulse to keep the money and go to Wellington. He bought some clothes and a railway ticket. After a few days at Hamilton he went to Wellington. There he applied to join the Air Force and was sent to Christchurch. He had about £4O left on arrival in Christchurch. He lent £ls to members of his unit and the rest of the money be had spent, some of it on parties. Accused said in a supplementary statement that by advancing his age he joined the Army in March, 1941. He was invalided back because of sickness and after a month was discharged. Accused was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.