THEFT OF WIRE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19960, 19 November 1934, Page 12

THEFT OF WIRE

LINESMEN BEFORE COURT Hubert Faith and Frank Hughes, two borough electrical linesmen appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on Saturday morning before Mr C. R. Orr-Walker SM., each charged with the theft between November 16, 1933 and November 16, 1934. of copper wire of a value of £l/15/-, the property of the Timaru Borough Council. Mr L. M. Inglis pleaded guilty on behalf of both accused. Senior-Sergeant I. H. Mathieson said that in consequence of information received from the Electrical Engineer, the police proceeded to the homes of both accused the previous evening and found a quantity of wire to the approximate value stated in the informations. There was, at each house, enough wire to fill two bags. He was given to understand that the system of stealing must have proceeded over a considerable time. Both men were occupying positions of trust, and were receiving good wages. An emphatic denial of any allegation of intention to sell the wire was made by Mr Inglis. The wire consisted of ends and pieces. The accused should have returned the wire to the Borough Council, which sold it at long intervals. In its original state, the wire was covered with rubber, which was excellent for starting fires under coppers, and it was for this reason that it was taken. Another factor was that if the men returned too much waste they were likely to be hauled over the coals. Faith was a married man, aged 49, and had 11 children, while Hughes was a married man, aged 38, and had five children. Faith had been in the employ of the Council for 18 or 19 years, and Hughes had been employed for about 13 years. Both men had good reputations, and had not been before the Court previously. Counsel suggested that accused might be placed under a suspended sentence, because it would impose a hardship on their families if they were fined substantially. The Probation Officer, Mr G. McKessar, stated that both men were given excellent characters. “It is a most unfortunate thing for the two men and their punishment is in being brought before the Court,” said the Magistrate. He did not propose to punish them as the case would be a lesson to them and to others not to take anything which was likely to be misconstrued. They would be ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within six months and also to pay costs 2/6 each.