COLLAPSE IN THE DOCK

Taranaki Daily News, 7 November 1930, Page 9

COLLAPSE IN THE DOCK

PIMENTAL AWAITS SENTENCE

CASE OVER MECCA OIL COMPANY. JLWE ASKS WHERE MONEY GONE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. While standing in th© dock at the Supreme Court this morning awaiting sentence Morton Parker Pimental, found <ruilty yesterday afternoon, collapsed and fell in the dock. Mr. Justice Ostler deferred sentence until to-morrow morning. s The charges arose out of PimentaiS representations in respect of Mecca Oil and the jury returned a verdict of o-uilty on both charges with a strong recommendation to mercy on the ground that Pimental might have made good if he had been allowed to carry on. Mr. Justice Ostler said he would endeavour, as far as he could in the public interests, to comply).with the recommendation and so that he could look into the matter /he remanded Pimental for sentence until this morning. ' Mr. Stevenson, for pimental, said he had a wife, and two children who wo*e in Wellington dependent upon him. Pimental had served in the war with the Australian Expeditionary Force and had been invalided out of the service after one and a half years. Although it might be said the fact that Pimental saw war service was no excuse . for l crime yet' it was submitted that if a man served his country some . weight might be attached to it,’particularly in °Pimental’s case, because when he joined the Australian forces in 1016 he was an American citizen and resigned that citizenship to join. His Honour told Mr. Stevenson that what "troubled him was that a sum of £lOOO or £l5OO had disappeared. Pimental must know where it was. “Where is it?” asked His Honour. “In the meantime there are victims of fraud who lost their life savings. Is he going to be treated leniently while he has that £1500?”

Mr. Stevenson said his instructions were that the figures given to the police were not strictly accurate. A deficiency of £4OO was admitted. His Honour asked where that was. He would take no- notice 'of the jury’s recommendation except on condition that Pimental made restitution of the money. He alone must know where it was. “You had better aslc him if you want to have any attention paid to the recommendation of the jury,” said Hie Honour to Mr./. Stevenson. . When Mr.'Stevenson asked Pimental what had been done with the money he replied in a low-1 voice that £4OO was ,in the hands of his wife at the time of. his arrest.

While’His Honour was reading .paper A presented/'■ by Mr. Stevenson ..pimentil" collapsed in- the dock and had to be assisted from the Court, His Honour postponing sentence.