MEDICAL MAN FINED

Otago Witness, Issue 3327, 19 December 1917, Page 49

MEDICAL MAN FINED

ILLEGALLY WEARING MILITARY UNIFORM. WELLINGTON, December 14. 1 Captain Yeates, a medical officer with ths New Zealand expedition to Samoa, and who claims that he did not resign his cornmis: sion in the force, was arrested in London at the instance of the War Office, .charged , with illegally wearing a New Zealand . uniform. He has been convicted on the above charge by the court in London, and fined £2l and £lO 10s costs, or in default 36 days' imprisonment. Dr Yeates, more often called in the days of his notoriety in this country Captain Yeates, was a medical officer with the force which occupied Samoa. He came back to Now Zealand after a time under orders to report here, and he was doing duty in Trcntham camp for a very little time. Then his trouble with the New Zealand authorities began to be discussed more or less in public. His case was mentioned in Parliament, Dr * Thacker being, one of Tiis most frequent champions. The Defence Minister took no heed of the pleas in his favour, and Dr gazetted out of the- force. For weeks* previously he had bcon v wearing a uniform and living at an hotel in Wellington, but soon after tno publication of the notice of his being removed ' from tho Expeditionary Force he left New Zealand. A few months later he was heard of in Egypt, where he still wore the uniform of the New Zealand Medical Corps. , r ; It is understood that in Egypt the British authorities took notico of this flagrant breach of the regulations. The/proceedings % which havo led to his recent conviction havo no doubt been taken for a repetition of the M offence. No full account of tho trouble between Dr Yeates and tho New Zealand authorities has ever'been mado public, but it is known that ho did not admit that nis discharge from tho strength of tho New Zealand force was regular.