CARS CONVERTED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 7, 17 September 1943, Page 5

CARS CONVERTED

YOUNG MAORI'S ESCAPADES

ARREST AT TE WHAITI

Having converted a car to his own use, at Rotorua, and. another at Whakatane, a young Maori subsequently stole three lots of petrol to continue a lengthy tour around the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty district. He was eventually arrested by Constable L. Bidois at Te Wliaiti and appeared in the Rotorua Magistrate's Court oil Monday before Mr S. L. Paterson, S.M. Accused, who was sentenced to three month's imprisonment, was Edwin Benjamin Arlton Tapuke, aged 22 years. Detective Sergeant A. J. White stated that on the evening of September <; last, Tapuke took a parked car from Hineiuoa Street, theproperty of Mr M. Henderson. Accused drove it to Matata and Whakatane and to To. Teko and Edgecumbe. At the last mentioned place he had syphoned two gallons of benzine into a bucket from another car and tlie bucket, which he had taken from another place, had subsequently been thrown into a river- Later he had abandoned the converted car at Te Teko and, returning to Wliakatane by service car, had converted on September 9 a vehicle belonging to Mr Iv. N. Hannah. Subsequently accused had stolen a twogallon tin and eight gallons of petrol from Messrs Tunnicliffe and Coy'-s mill, and a benzine drum and eight gallons of benzine from the. Public Works Department property at Murupara. Tapuke had toured around the Waiatapu, Te Teko area and abandoned the car at Te Whaiti.

The police officer stated that accused had two previous convictions for theft and appeared to be incorrigible. Two blankets and some cutlery were missing from Mr Henderson's car but neither of the vehicles had been damaged.

Tapuke was convicted and sentenced to three month's imprisonment on each charge of car coiwersion—the terms to be served concurrently—and was convicted and discharged on each of the three counts of theft.