ALLEGED INTERFERENCE WITH A WITNESS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3618, 17 July 1923, Page 5

ALLEGED INTERFERENCE WITH A WITNESS.

MRS MAC FIE CHARGED.

ACCUSED RESERVES HER DEFENCE.

The hearing of the charge against Resina Sarah Macfie of attemtping by a bribe to dissuade the principal witness in the Hayne case from giving evidence was continued before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., at the Police Court on Monday morning. The brother of the girl who was alleged to have- been approached by Mrs Macfie said he remembered Monday, June 11. On that date he went to the Hospital about 6.45 p.m. to see his sister. On the way to his sister’s room he saw the accused and another woman, whom he took to be a charwoman, at the bottom of the stairs. They were talking together. The accused came into the room a few minutes after he had been there. She said that she had brought some cakes for his sister. She asked witness to go out of the room, and said that she would call him when she wanted him. He went into the corridor and waited there thre9 or four minutes. The accused then came out and said; “My name’s Miss Brown —I had a message for her.” Witness thanked her and went back to the room again. He found his sister crying, and she could not speak to him. The nurse then came in. He went downstairs to look for the accused and saw her at the same place talking to the sam© woman —just about the foot of the stairs. He asked the accused if he could speak to her, and she left the charwoman and came over to him. He told her that it was very bad form to go into the room, as it was against the doctor’s orders —that Dr North would be very angry when he knew the state his sister was in. The accused said, “I’m sorry—l’ll get my friend,” or something like that. Accused then went out of the Hospital, and witness followed her a second or two later. Accused was talking to another woman, and asked him to come over to them. Witness then said that the girl was his sister, that she had no father, and that he wanted to know what the message was. Accused evaded the question and started to tell him how sorry everybody was. Witness said that his sister had had an operation that day, and the accused then offered to sit up with her if necessary. Witness said that this was not required. The accused then walked away with the other woman.

To Mr Hanlon: The conversation outside the Hospital had taken place before the other woman, who could have heard It. Witness was excited at the time, and he could not remember whether he shook hands with the accused when she went away. He thanked the accused, as she gave him the impression that she was a woman who was trying to do his sister some kindness. He had followed the accused outside the Hospital, as she had left, him abruptly, to try to get some further information from her. ” The accused would not tell him what the message was. The message, he understood, was from accused’s friends, and that they were going to do everything for his sister. It gave him a good impression at first, but it was a false impression, as it turned out.

Dr Arnold Perry, senior house surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital, said that he was on duly on the evening of June 11. He received an urgent message to go to the Batchelor Ward, and he went to the girl’s room. He found her crying. Superintendent Marsac-k asked if the girl Rad made any complaint. He submitted that he was entitled to ask this question. but not any particulars of the nature of the complaint. Mr Hanlon objected to the question, and his Worship upheld the objection. Witness, continuing, said that he reassured the girl. To Mr Hanlon: The girl was not hysterical—she was only crying. Detective Beer said that on June 13 he interviewed the accused at the detective office. The accused then made a voluntary statement and signed it. Witness went on to read this statement,, in the coursa of which accused said she saw the girl and told her not to worry, as she (accused) would see her w'hen she came out and help her all she could, as she was a stranger in a strange land. She said to the girl: “I am sorry to see you ar e so ill. It’s the woman who always pays.” She mentioned to the girl that Miss Inglis had been arrested, and told her she would be back to see her in a day or two. Accused stated that she told the brother of the girl that she had told his sister to pull herself together, as she would look after her when she came out. The brother replied, that he would do all the “looking after” required, and did not need her help. On leaving the Hospital she learned for the first, time that the girl was on the dangerously ill list, and realised that she had made a mistake in going to see her. She emphatically denied that she said Ilayne would give' the girl a lot of money if she did not speak, or that Miss Inglis would get 10 years if she did speak. Neither did she say that a friend had asked her to call and see the girl, and that it would lie all right if the girl said nothing. All she asked the girl was to promise she would not worry . . . She did not tell any-

one her name was Miss Brown or that she had a message for the girl. The only time she spoke to the brother was when she saw him in the main hall of the .Hospital. To Mr Hanlon; All the statement was not made in answer to questions. He had asked the accused to come to the police station. He had met her previously, and she had made a long statement, to him. He admitted that he asked the witness questions in regard to certain of the allegations.

To Superintendent Marsack: At the time he asked the accused to come to the station he did not know that she was to be charged with an offence. The accused reserved her defence and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Bail wag granted as before —self in one surety of £2OO, and one surety of £2OO or two of £IOO each.