PRISONERS SENTENCED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 186, 10 August 1935, Page 8

PRISONERS SENTENCED

WANGANUI SUPREME COURT i | PUNISHMENT FOR CRIME Three prisoners were sentenced by His Hoiivdr, the Chief Justice, Sir I Michael -Myers, in the Supreme Court I at. WaugaiiUi yesterday. j Bachint Singh, who had been found guilty of attempted rape al Kauar.ga I ion on July 2, was ordered 18 mentals ' imprisonment with hard labour. j John Joseph Cunningham, who had i ] leaded guilty to unlawful carnal . Knowledge, was ordered to come up for sentence if called upjn within 18 I months. | William Arthur Bettridge, who had pleaded guilty to unlawful carnal knowledge, was ordered to be detained tor reformetix v- purposes for a period of nine months. A plea for leniency ou behalf ol Singh wan proffered by Air. Y. B. Wims, wm, called Georie Richard Wylev to testify to the prisoner s previous good character. Prisoner had deeply resented thc statement which bad been published in a newspapvi that he was president of the Indian ' "nimuiiist Party in New Zealand, said counsel. Although he bad denied that statement on c-atn that denial had not been published. Hi' Honour: You may take it that it wid not ai'lTct my mind in the mallet. Mr. Willi.'; I mention it soy that thc ju i.'Hir. ) - denial may be published. < utilise! slated that the piisoner had bi'vii industrious, honest and had mi thing against him prior to July 2. He wa s .jii years of age ami had been re >ident in thia country some 17 years. I his wa*, his first offence and the pro bat ion officer's report recommended probation. Hi> llonoui; That is all very well, but the responsibility is mine, not hi.'. An. Willis asked His Honour to deal with the case as far as the good rvpu | Guion of prisoner would permit. i Mr. N. I>‘. Bain. Ciown Proseiulm. i said that up to now as far as he knew I piisoner had borne a gut/1 charader. ‘’ 1 do say this, sptaKing generally, I 1 ha\t, no intention of extending the bemdit ol ptuoation to a person lound guilty ol \ iofem •• t«. women, and of ail attempted offence of this kind.’ said His Honour in passing si’ihcih <■. I ortunately uo harm had been dom to tm;. v-oiiiaa. I am uot going to ui low it. |g go forth that, this (Hurt is going to grant, probation or ileal with * \treme leniency to olfcndvr.' convicted "f such offence s. Thc sentence I am going io inipm-r 1.. not a vr.iy hea\v IB* will Im >cnlvm-ed to IS month.-- with hind labour. ’ ' niiijingliam ami directed His Honour'' attention to the fact that the prisonei was 23 ’.cars of age and that (here was little to add to the probation oflicer s report. Counsel also said tha; the girl in cpicstion could I" taken for Doter|i\<• Sergeant J. K. Robertson live J. Murray, who had charge of thc case, ha»l observed that the girl looked to be Hi. Passing sentence, His ITnTiour said that ('.'ir’i case had to be dealt with in the light of its own • ireiimsianees. From the photo handed him it appeared that the girl certainly did look to be not less than l!l, ami ho was not goinfj to send a young man to gaol on sm-h (iiciiinsiam " ' were before him. The

prisoner would bv I c*'<-•• 1 to < oiiir up for sent cine, if callcl upon within IS inontlis. and lo innkr jjooM within that period Hie coals of the prcseculion, £6 I Is f>4. Mr. A. D. Brodie pleaded with His Honour to grant probation tc Betteridge. whom eouiisoi described :is a man of excellent character. Counsel also refmred to the attitude of the prisorer’s rare in respect to such a matter as this sort. He was a share-milker, iml his stepfather, who was in the 60’s, would have difficulty in attending to the herd if he was scut to pr ic on. If Hi- Honour could see his wa; lo ex-

i lend the benefits ol the Probation Act, as soon as the girl was of age he intended I > mai ry her. His Honour replied that it w-i. nut 1 lie m».u. not the father, he had to con sider, but the public. This was a different, case to the lust, where the prisoner was 23. Here wtis a man much older, who knew the gill's age. He could not extend the same leniency as in the las’ case, but he did not propose to impose a heavy Sentence. The prisoner would bp detained for reformative purposes tor a period of nine months. That did not necessarily mean that he would spjw e the whole of tha; time