DRUNKEN TRUCK DRIVER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 67, 24 April 1945, Page 5

DRUNKEN TRUCK DRIVER

YOUNG MAORI'S ESCAPADE '

FOUR MONTHS FOR CONVERSION

Pleading guilty to charges involving the conversion of a . truck belonging to hiis employer and also the driving of such. .« vehicle , whilst in a state of intoxic at ion John Tutahi a 20- ... V _ 9 9 • v '---pf. Lear-old Maori was sentenced to 'h four months in the Whakatane Court yesterday. Messlrs G. Brab- =-'] ant and J. King were the p res iding Justices. .j Outlining the case ? Sergeant Far- ~ | rell said that on Saturday last Tu~ -if tahi who was a labourer andi casual truck driver employed by Mr T. ? Anderson of Edgecumbe was order- V, ed to put the truck away at about 11 a.m. Waiting for him to get out of the way, defendant had without V any colour of right proceeded in the I trtick to Matata, where he had par- - \ taken of a substantial amount of *.1 ■- ---.ij liquor. He then proceeded to drive jj back to Edgecumbe by* the back - J road. Approaching the Tarawera \| bridge, a lady driver coming from. " $ the opposite direction was so alarm- f ed at the erratic course of the truck J? that she stopped her car in order to let him pass. In spite of this; Tutahi kept on and struck her veh- I icle ? damaging it extensively and then continued on to Edgecumbe without stopping. Police enquiries finally discovered his whereabouts and when interviewed he admitted all the facts. Defendant had been „ before the Children's Court X and was in fact a bit of, a hoodlum. Commenting that the offence was a serious one, the Bench observed 1 that in this instance it was thought * preferable to send defendant to gaol' rather than inflict a -substantial fine. , E Tutahi was sentenced to two months on each charge (two) and ordered ; to have his license cancelled for 12 | months. it