Altered Totalisator Ticket: Forgery Charge Fails

Chronicle (Levin), 6 May 1949, Page 8

Altered Totalisator Ticket: Forgery Charge Fails

WELLINGTON, May 5. Aftei* briefly feviewing th.e Crown evideaee, Mr. Justice Gresson dii'ectea the jury to return a verdiet of not gtiilty ia the case of Raymond Hector Judd, an Army lanee corporal, aged oi, who was charged in the Supreme Court "with. nttering a forged totalisator ticket at Trentham on January 24. The direction was made to the jury as def enee eounsel was „aboilt to eall his second witness. Without retiring the jury brought in a vhrdict accordingly and accused was discharged. Tlie Crown evideiice, wbich began yesterday, was that a man had presented to the pay window at the totalisator, a £1 ticket on which the number had been altered from 6 to 16. A constable had been spoken to by arcused before the ticket was presented. The paying elerk had refused to aecept the ticket and the man who presented it had left the ticket, remarking that it Was someone else's. In his evidence accused said he had been wearing longsight glasses that day and had not noticed that the ticket had been altered. The ticket had been giveri. to him by an Australian named Jack, for him to collect the dividend. His Honour remarked to the Crown eounsel when accused had given evidence, that the evidence of a knowledge of forgery was extremely sligkt and the Clown case rested almost solely on Judd's alleged statement to the eonstable, "I struek a winner." The rest of the evidence was just inference. To the jpry his Honour said the Crown case, at its conclusion, was weak but one which accused should riglitly be called upon to answer. The Crowh had hot proved that when he presented the ticket accused knew it was a forgery. Accused '^'levidence had not been shalcen in crdss-examination and there was insufiicient evidence to warraiLt finding him guilty.