CITY POLICE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25298, 7 August 1943, Page 6

CITY POLICE COURT

Friday, August 6 (Before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.) Motorists Charged Motorists charged with breaches of the traffic regulations were dealt with as follows:—James Albert Craik, driving without care and attention, licence suspended and prohibited from driving for three months; no driver’s licence, convicted and discharged; Eileen Louise Soper, failing to give way to traffic on her right, fined £2 and costs; no driver’s licence, convicted and discharged; Albert Gordon Stanaway, failing to give way to a tramcar, fined £3 and costs. » Sent to Borstal Ronald James Blair, aged 19, a fisherman, appeared for sentence on a charge of having stolen a military uniform, and was further charged with stealing a ticket bag belonging to the Railways Department.— Detective ' Sergeant Le Sueur explained that the accused, after stealing the bag from the van of a Dunedin-Pal-merston train, brought it to Dunedin and threw it away.—The accused was ordered' to be detained in a Borstal Institute for two years. Misuse of Petrol s Rodney Augustine Farry, aged 21, a labourer (Mr O. G. Stevens), pleaded guilty to having used 33 gallons of petrol for a- purpose other than that set out on his special consumer’s licence.—Detective Sergeant Le Sueur said that the defendant had been issued with a licence for 30 gallons of petrol a. month to enable him to drive to and from, his work at the Burnside Freezing Works. He was dismissed from his employment at the end of April last, but, in spite of this, he continued to use the licence until June 4.—Mr Stevens explained that the accused had understood that his dismissal was only temporary and that he would be resuming work at the freeze!-. He had used the petrol mostly in transporting his mother between his home' and the Hospital.—A fine of £ls, with costs (10s) was imposed, default being fixed at seven days’ imprisonment. Theft • , Edward. Henry. Schlaadt, aged 25, a labourer (Mr O. G. Stevens), and June Nonna Lorraine Meek, aged 18, were jointly charged with having stolen a case of teaspoons, valued at £J. 3s 6d, and an additional charge of having failed f to obey a direction of the district man-power officer was preferred against Meek.—Detective Sergeant Le Sueur told the court that the two accused,' who had represented themselves as man and wife, had, through a land agent, rented a furnished house in St. Clair, the rental being £3 5s a week. They retained the house for five weeks, but paid no rent, and after they had left it was found that a case of teaspoons had been removed. These were subsequently found among their belongings, and although Schlaadt at .first maintained that he had bought them, he finally said that they had probably been packed among his belongings by mistake. Schlaadt, Sergeant Le Sueur added, was at present on probation for receiving stolen property. Meek appeared to be uncontrollable. She would not work, and although she had been placed in essential employment by the Man-power Department, she had remained only a few days.— How the two accused came to be accepted as tenants in the complainant’s house was difficult to understand, the magistrate said. Inquiries regarding them must have been extremely casual, and the unfortunate owner had found that her house was In possession of people with no respect for property. There was no doubt that the accused were guilty of theft.— Schlaadt was placed on probation for 12 months and was ordered to pay £lO off the arrears of rent , as directed by the probation officer. On the charge of theft, Meek was committed to a Borstal Institution for 12 months, and,- in view of the circumstances, the other charge agaijist her was, at the suggestion of the magistrate, withdrawn without prejudice.