STEAMER ROBBERIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 20, 18 October 1917, Page 5

STEAMER ROBBERIES

MARAUDER CAPTURED ON THE MAORI

A DESPERATE STRUGGLE

An exciting incident .early on Tuesday morning broke the calm of tho ferry steamer Maori's passage from Wellington to Lyttelton. Passengers who were sleeping jjuietly were aroused by noises of conflict. Hurrying out of their cabins, they foirnd a number of men endeavouring to pin , down an early-morning prowler, whose actions had been snepicious. Bobberies on ferry steamers have been reported from time to time, and so any furtive prowler about the docks lays himself open to very strong suspicions if he happens to be seen. Still, when A man wandered down into the engineroom of the Maori at a very early hour on Tuesday, lie was taken to be only a sleepless passenger smitten with a desire to see how the machinery worked. He was politely requested to leave, but he had. to be almost literally chased-away. Incidentally, ho nearly became entangled in some of the machinery. A little ktor tbo'eame man was seen on deck. Wlien two of the passengers noticed him throwing jewellery overboard, they remembered stories of ferry-boat robberies, and recalled tho fact that between the houn> of 1 and 8 a.m. it is not particularly ctifficulf for a man. to go in and out of some o? the cabins. So they decided upon, action. One of Oleni took up ■« strategic position behind the curtain in the doorway of one of the cabins, and when tlie prowler got near enough tripped him up in the curtain. Then began. & violent struggle. The chief offioer, a couple of sailor* tho steamer's iiightwatchman, and four or five Bailors reaohed the scene of strife in a hurry, and piled themsolves on the lone-handed straggler against odds. After a sharp contest, they got the man pinned down. Handcuffed and ironed, lie was then placed in tho stewards' lavatory for safe keeping. However, the struggle on deck had not taken all the fight out of him. Ironed as he was, ho managed to smash everything breakable in iis place of confinement, including the glass-panel door, and to wrench off the brass fittings in the place.

When blip Maori got inside Godley Head-Captain Manning signalled for the police. The vessel whs hove-to, with an anchor down, a short distance from the wharf, to await the arrival of the police officers. Senior-Sergeant Jackson, and Constable D. Lloyd went off to the vessel, and after another struggle they got the man ashore and np to the Lyttelton Police Station. He was a steerage passenger, but he refused to give his name or to answer any questions. However, after looking up some police records and photographs, Detective Quartermain identified him as Victor Fanning Fraser. He is a man of about sft. lQin. in height, strongly built, and apparently between 27 and 30 years of age.. Some jewellery and other identified articles, said to belong to seven or eight different people, were found in his .possession. In consequence of the developments, a search was made in the engine-room of the Maori, and more jewellerv was found hidden there. So far as could be gathered, about 6ix saloon cabins ana an equal number of steerage cabins had been visited surreptitiously. Later in the morning, Fraser, who was in a very dishevelled state, appeared before Captain Hatchwtll, J.P., in the Police Court at Lyttelton. He was charged with theft of a gold .bangle, a gold chain and charm, and a gold brooch, of a total value of £9, the property of Mary Hune. He was remanded -until Wednesday. SENTENCE OP THREE MONTHS" IMPRISONMENT. By 'Ariezranh—Press Association. Christchurch, October J7. At the Lyttelton Police Court to-day, Victor Stanning Fraser, who was arrested on tlio ferry steamer Maori yesterday morning under exciting circumstances, appeared to answer several charges of theft of jewellery, etc., belonging to the Maori's passengers. The police elated that Fraser had been convicted of assault at Wellington and liau been granted probation. Mr. Donnelly, for the defence, stated that Fraser was a returned soldier, having Been discharged from active servico owing to sunstroke. Ho was of opinion, in view of the miscellaneous articles stolen, that Fraser was still suffering from the effects of sunstroke.

Fraser was convicted and sentenced to three months' hard labour in each case, tae sentences to be concurrent.