A FOOLISH ACT!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 153, 10 September 1941, Page 5

A FOOLISH ACT!

THEFT CHARGE FOLLOWS

BENCH ISSUES WARNING

The question of actual intention to commit theft or merely to oblige a possible friend by removing a brace of ducks into a building out of the rain was the point at issue in tlie Whakatane Court last Monday when a local man (whose nam:: was suppressed) was charged with theft. Messrs Scliofield and Mulholland, J.P's, were on the bench.

Constable Urquhart stated that the ducks had been purchased by n

Maori at the auction mart and bad been removed by the defendant who later when interviewed first denied taking, the birds and then stated that he had merely followed his usual practice of obligingly removing thf m to shelter as he. had so often clone when other goods were left in the vicinity by friends.

Mr B. S. Barry who defended explained that defendant had been tiroused from sleep by the police when first interviewed and had honestly no recollection till later just what had transpired. That he had no intention of taking the ducks iva.; obvious by the fact that he had not taken them home but had left them handy.

The bench considered that defendant had beea more foolish tlia>i blameworthy and in dismissing the ;;ase warned him to be more careful

to establish the identity of the goods frf people, before removing them.