CHEAP CURRENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, Issue 17690, 2 July 1927, Page 8

CHEAP CURRENT.

ROBBING POWER BOARD. By Telegraph—Press , Association. AUCKLAND, July 1. A charge of stealing electricity, valued at £2 13s 4d,. the property of the Auckland Power Board, was preferred against Charles Carpenter and his son, Sydney Carpenter, in the Police Court. Chief Detective Cummings said Sydney Carpenter, who was an electric linesman, had attached a flex to a water-heating, circuit, which was charged for on a flat rate, and did not register. The power stolen was used for heating a; room. The- system had been operating for some time. “The offence is difficult to detect, and the Power Board has decided to prosecute in every case. . The Board has chosen to rely on the honesty of the public, and to supply, service at a minimum cost, and if the offence does not decrease imprisonment will be asked for.”

Mr Dickson, who appeared for the Carpenters, said the father had been out of work for some time. It was the son who conceived the idea during his father’s absence in Wellington. These people had very little money, and their circumstances were such that they committed the offence out of sheer necessity, said Mr Dickson. The Magistrate (Mr R. W. McKean), fined accused £5 each, and ordered them to make restitution to the Power Board.