BRUTAL SCENE IN A CEIL

NZ Truth, 25 October 1924, Page 7

BRUTAL SCENE IN A CEIL

♦— — — — ■ '-'..■:, ■'-,''. Sailor Runs Amok Ruffianly Assault on Other Prisoners, Metaphorically speaking, the man who "bites" another man's ear wishes \ something for nothing or craves some favor worth having. But this cannot be applied to the case which came be- ; fore Magistrate Poynton at Auckland ; the other day, when a fireman off the , oversea vessel Mahana was charged With assaulting Albert Wright and • Harry Treanor.- He admitted the asL sault, and Senior Sergeant Rawle call- • ed evidence which showed that all three had found themselves inhabitants of one of the cells at the police , station on Saturday evening. Accom- ; modation waß at a premium, and hence , the necessity for packing three m one , room. When the acoused, George ; Banks, made his appearance m the State boarding house he was m any- • thing- but a conciliatory frame of mind, i and he soon became on terms of straini ed relationship with' his fellow voy- ■ agers who had looked on the wine I when it was red. Banks was inclined , to be pugilistic, so matters soon bel came willing and all three were eri- : gaged m a melee on the concrete floor of the cell. ' Banks seems to have been , the more aggressive m dealing out the i stoush, for Treanor; it was shown, had : received a kick under the chin, while : Wright did not fare even so well as • that, and he appeared m Court with his head and. neck heavily bandaged. !. It was explained that he was knocked i down and badly handled while on the ground. Not only was he handled, for . Banks, it was stated, stuck m the boot, too, with freedom, and he also got. to Wright's ear with his teeth, ajid It took several stitches to repair the ;' damage to the ear. Some stitches . were also needed m Wright's groin. The . Berich marked such a sign of a return to the days of cannibalism with a fine of £5 m default one ; month, Banks to be placed aboard his , ship when it left. The S.M. said that , the country did not want people like Banks. Wright would collect half of the fine if paid. ! Banks has" £5 coming to him m ; wages..