Fined On Unusual Type Of Conversion Charge

Chronicle (Levin), 10 July 1948, Page 4

Fined On Unusual Type Of Conversion Charge

Sequel to an accident on -the "Ohau East Road when a young man was fataiiy injured as a result of the truck in which he- was a passsnger leavmg theU*oad and running down a bank, was the appearance oi the driver, Leonard Lewis Close, in the Levin' Court yesterday, charged with unlawfully conve-rtmg-j the vehicle, the property of tne. Manawatu Meat and Cold Storage jCompany and valued , at £750; 1 Defendant was , represented by Mr. , J. P. Bertram. 1 The firm which eniployed {defendant was in the habit 'of ailowing' its empioyees to take their vehicles homc witli them for. "their converiience, as most of the driving wks done at night, said Sergeant W. Gramgef , , prosecuting. . On this bccasion defendant had driven the vehicle to the Ohau East Road for private reasons, aird on the'return journey an accident had occurred which had resulted in a fatality.Defendant had not previously been before. the court except to answer a charge arising out of the accident, this having been dismissed. ■ He submitted that the firm's arrangement in ailowing drivers to. "take their vehicles home had been lloose, and tended towards abuse, j'said Mr. Bertram. He claimed'that the case was not a norma! one of 'conversion, as the company knew ■what went on and had -apparently j eondoned it by not taking action in |the past. Had it not been that an accident had resulted, he felt sure ,that the company would not have 'taken - action in this case. Defenjdant was a young married • man with a good character. . i ; Sergeant W. Gramger informed ithe court that £250 in damage to the truck had resulted from the accident. It was a question as to the offence and not the consequences, said the magistrate, Mr. H. J. Thompson. It was obviously not the usual type of conversion, and it appeared that Mr. Bertram's suggestion that the company had shown tacit approval in the past might well be true. Isome heavy punishment, normaily | imprisonment, f allowed the offence jof car conversion. The defendant, jhowever, had already been faced with serious consequences from his J action and might well be faced • with others added the magistrate jwhen entering a conviction and imposing a fine of £7 10s. Court costs were 10s,