THEFT OF LIQUOR.

Waipa Post, Volume XII, Issue 944, 20 May 1920, Page 5

THEFT OF LIQUOR.

A NATIVE GOES TO PRISON.

AT RAILWAY STATION.

CAUSTIC COMMENT BY BENCH,

The prevalence of petty thefts at the Awamutu and other railway stations was emphasised by Constable Doyle at the Te Awamutu Police Court recently, when a native, Kahi Koi Kawhata alias Charlie Kay, was charged with the tjieft of a bottle of whisky, valued atMOs, the property of J. T. Lees, of Te Awamutu. Colonel H' R. Ryder and Mr S, H. Dunkley, J.’sP., ‘were on the bench. For the prosecution, Constable Doyle stated that at 5 o’clock on the evening of the 14th ultimo accused was on the railway station. Mr H. Andrew, carrier, of Te Awamutu, had delivered seven packages of liquor to the railway station, preparatory to consigning it to the southern districts of the King Country. He placed the packages temporarily on a barrow while in the storeroom. When he came back to the platform, Andrew had missed one of the packages of liquor. He saw the accused standing nearby, and immediately confronted him with an accusation of theft, to which Kawhata made emphatic . denial;. Andrew was not satisfied with this, and searched the native, who did not resist. Andrew found the bottle of whisky .n the native s coat pocket. He then had informed testator.

In the box the accused stolidly denied the theft, but, after hearing further evidence from Constable Doyle, and evidence by the stationmaster Mr Fowke, the justices decided to convict, staling in a rider that offences like that committed by the accused were unfortunately becoming very common. In the south ir was necessary to have special policemen to guard liquor on platforms, and complaints were very frequent. The Rail r way Department was continually meeting claims for liquor lost on trait sit. Accused wqs convicted and sentenced to one month’s hard labour in Mount Eden Gaol. The bench added that further cases of a similar nature would be visited with the maximum penalty applicable to the offence.