THEFT OF ORANGES FROM CARGO

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24910, 25 June 1946, Page 3

THEFT OF ORANGES FROM CARGO

SEAMEN CONVICTED 7 Two seamen, member? of the crew of the motor-ship Holmglen, appeared at the Lyttelton Magistrate’s Court yesterday, before Messrs W. C. Cleary and F. E. Sutton, Justices of the Peace, on charges arising out of the pillaging at Wellington, of part of a cargo of oranges. They were Norman peter Hill, who was charged with stealing oranges to the value of £l, the property of the Holm Shipping Company, and Thomas Allan Boyd, charged with receiving oranges to the value of 10s, well knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained. Both pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant F. Hayhurst said that while oranges were being loaded on to the Holmglen at Wellington on Friday, one or more cases becamp broken open. Hill helped himself to a quantity and some were tossed to Boyd, who also picked up some from the deck. Nothing was known against Boyd, who had a good record, but Hill had a previous conviction for theft. Mr W. R. Lascelles, who appeared for Boyd, said that, so far as Boyd was concerned, it was not a case of actual pillaging, but he fell into the temptation of the moment. The oranges were being thrown around and he accepted some and picked up some loose ones. Boyd had an absolutely clean record, and during his 12 years -at sea had always been given good discharges. The Bench said that Hill had been convicted previously and should have learned his lesson. He would be convicted and sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment. As it was Boyd’s first offence, he would not be sentenced to imprisonment, but would be convicted and fined £lO.