MISSING COUPONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26957, 17 December 1948, Page 9

MISSING COUPONS

BUTTER RATIONING OFFENCE ” The offence was probably due to muddlement rather than dishonesty,” commented Mr J. D. Willis, S.M., in toe City Police Court yesterday in imposing a penalty of £7 10s and costs (10s) on Peter Matheson, a grocer, on a charge of a breach of toe butter rationing regulations in that he had failed to account to the Rationing Office for 82Jib of butter. The defendant, who was represented by Mr J. G. Warrington, pleaded guilty. Chief Detective Hall said that on November 8 last a rationing inspector had made a check of the defendant’s butter coupons, and found a deficiency of 82Jlb. Later the defendant had been able to account for 37Jib of butter. The defendant’s explanation of the shortages was that it frequently happened that when butter was delivered the householders concerned would be away and the coupons would, therefore, not be collected. That explanation, Mr Hall added, was quite feasible in some instances. Mr Warrington said the offence covered toe period of the change-over in the butter rationing system in November last. “It is a serious matter for the defendant, but it was not his own doing. He has now instituted a daily check on coupons.” Counsel explained that there had been a shortage averaging 1 l-31b a day during the first four weeks of the new system. “ You have a dreadful list of convictions starting in 1935 with thefts in toe North Island," said the magistrate in sentencing Albert Leonard Hansen, a labourer, aged 49, to six months imprisonment with hard labour on a charge of the theft of £2O in money, the property of Gladys Read. On a charge of the theft of a sovereign, the property oi Allan Lawrence Read, toe accused was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment, the sentences to be concurrent. The accused pleaded guilty. Chief Detective Hall said the accused had been employed at a private hotel in toe city and had taken the sovereign from the room of a guest and sold it for £2 ss, giving toe dealer a false name. The accused was friendly with the mother of toe first complainant and went into her room and took the mqney from a box. He had been proposing marriage to her. The money had not been reC °The ed magistrate, in sentencing the accused, said he was sorry that he could not admit him to probation so that he could be ordered to make restitution of the money he had taken. He made an order for the return of the sovereign to the owner.