BETTING CHARGE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 18, 18 February 1942, Page 5

BETTING CHARGE

FINE OF £20 IMPOSED

POLICE: ACTIVE ON SATURDAY

A plea of guilty was entered by John Gwynne when he appeared at the/ local court on Monday before Messrs C. G. Lucas G. R. Kent, J's.P., on a charge of betting, and he was fined the minimum amount of £20. He was arrested on Saturday afternoon.

In evidence Sergeant M. Farrell stated that he had found the offender in the Strand on Saturday ancl that he was there for the purpose of betting. It had been known for some time that Gwynne was accepting bets on a small scale. He' had on Saturday been running a double chart involving a small sum and also had admitted taking small bets. His explanation had been that following recent sickness in his family he was endeavouring to* supplement his carpentering wages to pay debts.

The Sergeant continued that the accused had given every help to the police, who would not have been able to prove the charge had not Gwynne handed over documents. He 1 was a decent, hard-working man who had not been before the Court before. He had undertaken to cease 1 his operations, and had no address from which he operated.

The Bench pointed out that the penalty could be any sum between £20 and £100 and then imposed the

minimum fine