Ship’s Officer Found in Another Man’s Car

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 610, 12 March 1929, Page 1

Ship’s Officer Found in Another Man’s Car

£lO FINE IMPOSED ‘ RESULT OF STUPIDITY” "'A man who touches some ono eise’s car docs so at his peril and deserves three months’ imprisonment,” declared Mr. F. H. Levien. S.M., at the Police Court this morning. Unusual circumstances, however, induced the magistrate to impose a fine of £lO when Norman llelme Turner was charged with converting to his own use a motor-car valued at £IOO and belonging to Gilbert Benjamin Chivers. Mr. Moody appeared for Turner, a marine officer, aged 26, and entered a plea of not guilty. Great was Mr. Chivers’s surprise, according to the story he told this morning, when he returned to his car which had been left outside the New Zealand Shipping Company’s office, and found the lights switched on and a stranger at the wheel. He asked the intruder what he was doing there, and the man laughed, saying. ‘T am going for a ride.” Witness said that he had removed a part of the distributor so that the car could not be driven away. He went for a constable, and it was decided to drive the man to the Wharf Police Station. “When I started the car I found the hand brake lying on the floor broken.” continued Chivers. “Tli© ignition was switched on and the gears were, set in reverse so that the car could be backed out. The man was not extremely drunk, though he had evidently had a few.” Witness estimated the damage to the car at £ 1 11s. Constable Hanna remembered that when accosted Turner had said something about waiting for his friends. When asked whether he could drive a car he had replied that he could drive any car or any ship. Mr. Moody: That was the beer talking. The constable said that Turner had admitted, being in the car for 15 minutes. Counsel’s story was tii£t Turner had mistaken the car for that of a friend. He was a ship’s officer with a responsible position on a Home boat, and the wholo escapade was a piece of stupidity. “Leaving the ship on Saturday Turner had drinks at several hotels,” continued counsel. “He left one at an hour that I had better not mention and went into town with some friends in a car for dinner.” In town the two men had alighted from the car and met an engineer and the wireless operator from the ship and stopped fo.r a talk. The chief officer had walked on, and Turner had been left alone, so he went back to the car which he thought belonged to his friends and settled down to wait for them. “The next thing he knew,” added counsel, “the constable was speaking t.o him.” Turner then fold of his mistake. and urged that he could not drive a car and had never tried. Mr. Levien described the offence as most serious. Counsel asked for the imposition of a fine, as the ship was sailing shortly, and any other punishment would seriously effect Turner’s career. As it was he would probably lose his position through being charged. Mr. Levien acceded to counsel’s request, though ho said that the only thing that prompted him to do so was the fact that there was no evidence to show that Turner could drive a car. The man was also ordered to pay witexpenses, £2, and damage to the car, £ 1 11s. “Were it not for the fact that the ship is sailing to-night I would advise my client to appeal.” commented Mr Moody. “You would not call • inversion.” Mr. Levien: The Sypreme Court would certainly hold him guilty of attempting to convert. Mr. Moody: It is the young man’s career I am thinking of. As the ship is sailing to-night I am unable to carry it any further. Mr. Levien: 1 am not interested in the question, of appeal.