BELGIANS STRAXGE STORY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2860, 6 January 1909, Page 21

BELGIANS STRAXGE STORY.

[ BOBBED AND DRUGGED. (Fkom Our Owjt Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, January 4. An old Belgian named Joseph Pinto- was brought before the court this morning charged "with being a prohibited immigrant. Last September Pinto was discovered on "the Tofua, en route from Levuka to Auckland, in a penniless and apparently memoryless condition. Arrived at Auckland, the Customs officials were communicated with, and the ship was warned not to let him land, but Pinto seized an opportunity to escape, being lost sight of for several days, and next found j faf a pitiable condition out near the Waitakeri Ranges. For some days he was unintelligible, and then gradually, as he became coherent, a strange story h-e related' of fortune and foul play. He had set out i from Belgium with his young wife and brother-in-law for America. There was some vague mention of a valuable patent • and a big estate owned by him in Lima, and then suddenly he was being driven in a cab to the water front at San Francisco, j and the next thing he knew was awakening in a dark cabin on board a big. steamer. Of what followed he had no recollection, nor could he say how he came- to be in Fiji or on board the Union Company's steamer, but he was firm in tihe opinion that he had been robbed by his wife and brother-in-law, and Jjieftdrugged and placed on a^steamef: When j he was up at the ppjjcc^tatlon, explained* I Sergeant Hendry, a folding square o&, metal was found upon him. In this pieca of metal, about 6in square, were punched! a number of round holes on some apparent system, and scratched on the surI face of the metal was " Joseph Pinto. ll I Immediately upon^this metal square being, ; found by the police Pinto became veryj | excited, and rushed at him (Sergeant Her,- • dry) in an effort to recover it. That piece of. metal was his brains, and meant grear., wealth to him, he declared, upon being; questioned by the Belgian Consul and byj j Chief Detective Warsack. Pinto elaborated ! his story, somewhat varying at the samtjf j time from his previous statement in som^ respects. Dropping now all reference id estates in Belgium and Lima, he stated ! that on February 11 laet he left Havre with his wife and brother-in-law for New York. ■ In his possession he had a valuer I able cryptogram, presumably the one pr<* ; duced in court, and the patent rights oJ this he sold for £4000 in America. They; | then travelled across to the West, sta;'' I ing at v the Hotel Metropole, in Los | Angelos, and at 134 King street, San Fran^' ! cisco. Here he remained only five dayd before being drugged and robbed by his< wife 'and brother-in-law. All he could'rtjj' member between this time and his returjy to sanity in Auckland was a hazy recol^ | lection of a large green-funnelled steamer, 1 of which the crew were all black. Askecg ' by the magistrate if he had any wish tdf express, Pinto replied, none except nisi ' return to San Francisco. Upon the P un <Ji tured metal square being handed to hina Pinto began to explain with animation ■ something of the value of his cypher sys* tern, and it was evident that he stiljg cherished fond hopes of reinstating his for* tunes were he only able to Teturn to; America. Mr Russell, on behalf of thtJ. Union Company, submitted that if Pintejj were takeji back by the company to Fiji the whole question of his appearance hercV would be satisfactorily settled, besidcf which he would be a certain step on hirf way back to San Francisco. After « little more discussion his Worship df-cideoj to send for the port health officer to asW hi 6 opinion on the queston of Pinto'j sanity.