NOT FRAUDULENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 981, 26 May 1930, Page 12

NOT FRAUDULENT

MAGISTRATE DECIDES FOR ACCUSED “WANTS SHAKING UP” 1 “There is no ease.” decided Mr. V. K. Hunt, S.M., dismissing a charge ot • obtaining credit by fraud, made at the I Police Court this morning. against Frederick Scott. “He wants shaking ; up and if 1 see him here again ITJ j know what to do with him,” added' the j magistrate. .Scott, a carpenter, aged 34. was I charged with obtaining credit by fraud Ito the extent of £4O from the Stnte Forestry Department on March 4. 4r. j Matthews appeared for accused and ] elected for trial by the Supreme Court. Hector McDonald Keymer, a carpenj ter. said he had answered an advertisement at the beginning of February. A j man named Scott was calling for a ! price to build a hutment at Riverhead ; At 39 Wallace Street, Herne Bay, wit- | ness had seen accused, who said he ; had a contract to build a hutment for ] the Forestry Department at Riverhead. Witness had agreed to provide the labour to build Abe hutment for : £35. "On February 33. 1 gave accused £.lO in cash as he had asked i for a fidelity bond,” witness continued. ! "1 went out to Riverhead and started ! to work. I was out there about ten ! days when I ran out of material. I ! came into town and accused promised ! to get the material out to Riverhead. iMy mate and I went back to j the job, but . there was no more I material so, after doing a few jobs. I : went back to Scott again, but found ho had left Wallace Street. A few ] days later I saw him at the Forestry ; Department office. Scott promised to J see that tlie timber went out, but no J more timber came to Riverhead and I i could not get on with the work.” Mi*. F. K. Hunt, S.M.: So you have I received no payment for work done and you are also £lO out of pocket? Witness: That is so. Mr. Matthews: I think you were of- | fered £ls on account? Witness: I was never offered any-* ' thing. PROGRESS PAYMENT Roderick Duncan Campbell, Con- | servator of Forests in the State Forests I Service at Auckland, said Scott had I lodged a tender for the erection of a ! hutment at Riverhead on behalf of R. ] Scott and Company on January 25. His j price of £ 229 Is was the lowest re- ! ceived and he described himself as an j experienced builder. The contract was i signed on February 5, Scott undertak- ! ing to complete the work within eight | weeks. Scott, had given an order on ; the department to The Morningside ; I Timber Company, from which he was | obtaining material. On March 3, ac- ; cused had called and asked for a proj gress payment of £l2O which was rei fused. On the following day lie was j advanced £4O, £25 in respect of material supplied by W. H. Grove and Company and £ 15, which he said he wanted to pay the builders. "Since then I have not seen Scott.’’ witness added. "I sent a registered letter to the address in Herne Bay, but it was returned. The £4O was given accused fo# a specific purpose, £25 was to be paid to Grove and Company and £ls to Keymer for labour.” William F. Grove, a partner in the firm of W. H. Grove and Company, Fanshawe Street, said R. A. Scott and Company had ordered goods to the value of £45 Is 3d in February. Scott had telephoned saving his carrier was on the way and ho was on the way with an order on the State Forestry Department. Scott had not arrived and never paid the account which was ultimately settled by the department. May 20 was the date he had arrested Scott, according to Acting-Detective Packham. He had made a statement. Ho stated that he liad gone out to the Morningside Timber Company, but the i manager refused to supply the material unless he paid cash, with the ; result that the job was hung up. Mr. Hunt decided that there was no fraud in the method of obtaining the money from the Forestry Department. Scott did owe the money to Groves and the carpenters and what he did with the money afterward did not make the method of obtaining it fraudulent. “You have to satisfy me that the man had a fraudulent intention when he went for the money,” Mr. Hunt added. “He will have to account for the money ! though.’ .