SERIES OF VALUELESS CHEQUES ISSUED BY MARRIED COUPLE

Wanganui Chronicle, 22 January 1947, Page 7

SERIES OF VALUELESS CHEQUES ISSUED BY MARRIED COUPLE

HUSBAND SENT TO GAOL Valueless cheques issued in Auckland, Hamilton, Te Awamutu, Otorohanga, Taihape, Palmerston North and New Plymouth, led to the appearance in the Magistrate’s Court, Wanganui, yesterday, of Desmond Halliday, labourer, aged 31, and his wife, Patricia Joan Halliday, aged 27, on charges of false pretences, four of which were preferred against the male accused alone. They were jointly charged with two counts and the female accused faced two charges alone. The total value received in goods and money was just over £lOO. AU charges were admitted. The male accused, whose list ot previous convictions was described by Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M., as "extremely bad," was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. The female accused was admitted to probation for 12 months on one charge and on the rest was ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called on. "It used to be a presumption that where a man and fus wife were jointly charges he was the prime mover and that she was under his domination," said the magistrate. "I think that in the present case this is so." OFFKNCE IN TAIHAPE Detective-Sergeant H. A. Hay, who prosecuted, said that in all there were eight charges. The Hallidays went io Taihape on November 8 from Ohakune and had with them a young child. They were looking for work and conceived the idea of obtaining a cheque form from a florist and thus raising some money. The female accused subsequently went to the store of B. F. McSweeney and purchased a man’s shirt valued at £1 4s 4d. She handed over a cheque signed “H. C. Johnson” in payment and received £l6 5s 8d in change. The second offence was committed in Palmerston North on November 11, where a blank cheque form was obtained from a land agent. This cheque was filled in and handed to a storekeeper by the female accused. She received underclothing valued at 16s 9d and £l6 16s 3d in cash. The cheque was signed H. C. Stanners. In Hamilton on November 28 a cheque for £l4 16s 6d was handed to a .shopkeeper, A. E. Hancock, cash being received. The cheque was signed "J. Collins.” Mrs. Halliday handed the chequl' to Hancock, who knew her.

Detective - Seregeant Hay added that the next offence was committed in Auckland. The Hallidays were staying at a boarding-house and on December 27 handed over a valueless cheque for £9 7s in payment for their lodgings, receiving £3 10s in change. The cheque was signed "J. S. Hansen.” CHEQUE FORMS TAKEN While on their way south the accused were given a lift in a private car, but at one stage the driver had to his vehicle. During his absence the took three cheque forms and at Te Awamutu on December 12 the male accused purchased a pair of shoes, valued at 13s 6d for the child. A cheque signed “A. J. Keenan” was handed over and £4 6s 6d was received in change. On the following day two further cheques were issued at Otorohanga. In one shop there a child’s coat valued at. £4 10s was purchased and £4 18s 6d was received in casli from a cheque signed “R. J. Willar." In another shop two pairs of pyjamas, valued at £1 19s, were obtained and £9 Is in cash was received, this cheque also being signed "R. J. Willar.” Ultimately, the couple arrived at New Plymouth and on December 21 were short of cash. The male accused went into a small dairy, bought a Christmas cake and other small goods totalling 12, and handed over a cheque signed “D. J. Keenan." He also received £9 in cash. “The male accused was not long out of prison when these offences were committed,” said Detective-Ser-geant Hay. "He was in Ohakune endeavouring to obtain a job and after that he and the female accused moved about a bit. With the advent of one or two of these cheques it was necessary to keep moving.” ARRESTED IN WANGANUI The two accused were married in January, 1946, and she had a young child of a former marriage. They were apprehended by the police in Wanganui on January 14 and at the time the male accused was working as a porter in a city hotel. Since the accused had arrived at Wanganui, however, the police had not received any complaints locally. Both accused were perfectly frank when interviewed by the police and even admitted two offences about which no complaint had been received. The magistrate: How much is involved in these charges? Detective - Sergeant Hay: Slightly over £lOO.

The magistrate: And is no restitution possible? Detective-Sergeant Hay: They have nothing. He had secured a job before his arrest. The case had curious features because both accused had been seeking to take full blame for what happened, said Mr. R. E. Jack. The female accused maintained that she was the cause of her husband’s lapse because she should have looked after him better, but his history was an unfortunate one. When Halliday was young his father was sent to prison and he went to a home. "I cannot offer any excuse for these offences, but a moving feature of the case is the housing situation," counsel added. “He could not get a job where a house or accommodation was available, hut after being in Wanganui for three weeks had secured a room.” No offences were committed during those three weeks in Wanganui and Halliday was man enough to admit responsibility for these offences. His wife was a widow when he married her and had not been before the court previously. "Had it not been for his influence she would never hate committed these offences,” said counsel. The male accused had an extremely bad list of previous convictions dating back to 1936, said the magistrate, sentencing Halliday to a year in prison. "I owe a duty to the public and I cannot consider the affect this sentence will have on his wife and her child,” the magistrate added.