A BETTING TELEGRAM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 14, 11 October 1919, Page 9

A BETTING TELEGRAM

TELEGRAPH OPERATOR IN TROUBLE

ALTERING A MESSAGE

By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, October 10. A case involving a charge of false pretences against a telegraph operator in connection with a. betting telegram to Christchurch came before Mr. J. K. Wilson, S.M., at the Police Court to-day. The accused was Boyd Stewart Sutherland, and the charge against him was that on August 1G ho attempted to obtain i! 22 from James Walsh, agent and bookmaker, of Christchurch, by pretending that a certain telegram addressed to lioy Matthews, of Christohilrch, otherwise James Walsh, purporting to invest JllO on a horse named Gold Kip had been lodged for transmission before a certain hour in tho form in which' it was ultimately, received. Robert M. Cox, assistant to Walsh, gave evidenco to the effect that a man named W. Itcid, employed by a hairdresser of Queen Street had made an arrangement to deal with Walsh under the ".ClO-no-roply" cash-betting telegraph system. This enabled Huid to bet on any horse running in New Zealand provided the telegram was handed in to the telegraph office before the advertised time of starting any particular race on time. On August 1G two telegrams were handed in under this arrangement with Keid, investing i£lo each oil Gold Kip and Imaribbon._ The "handed in" time of the Gold Kip telegram was 12.50 p.m. and the "finishing time" of the telegram 1.2-1 p.m. Owing to the delay between the "handed in ' tinio and the "finishing time," tho addressees asfed to see the original telegram, but could not obtain it. Both horses named won in their respective races, Gold Kip running first in tho Hoathcote Handicap, and lleid being entitled to ,£22. Owing to 6omo suspicion regarding tho telegram, the money was not paid out. The Telegraph Department informed the police about the matter. The race won by Gold Kip had been due to start at 12.05 p.m., but it did. not actually start until I.2'p.m. Walter Keid, hairdresser, at present employed at Otaluihu, said that about fifteen months ago ho arranged with Walsh, on behalf of the accused, for business to take placo under tho "jilO-no-reply" telegram system. Witness said he put in many telegrams for accused, but none for himself. Accused used witness's namo on the telegrams.' Witness did not know tlmt a bookmaker would not deal with a telegraph operator under the system in question. On August 21 accused showed witness a letter from Walsh, and accused drafted o reply, which witness copied and cent to Walsh. Accused said that one of the telegrams had been mislaid by tho Department The telegram relating to the bet on Gold Kip was not handed in by witness. Alexander Mill, senior supervisor in tho telegraph operating room, Auckland, said . that on August l(i accused war. sending on the Christchurch line from 12.30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The telegram relating to the bet on Gold Kip was put in at Elliott Street Post Oflicc at 12.55 p.m. It left Elliott Street on its way to tho Chief Post Office at 12.57, anil reached the officer 111 the Cliief Post Offico at 1.5 p.m. It was then sent upstairs to the operating room. The telegram would have been dispatched by accused, who finished transmitting it at 1.21 p.m. Tho receiver of the mcssago asked for a repeat, but the original telegram could not be found. Accused had been an operator in tho Auckland ofiieo for about three years.

Detective-Sorgeant Hammond said that the accused was a married man with two childron. • Accused made a. statement to witness. Ho admitted that ho used lteid'B "no-reply" system, and on August 16 ho made an unauthorised alteration to the telegram. Originally tlio latter was an instruction to invest, i'lfl on a horse called Kebekah. In transmitting the telegram he altered the nnme of llebekah to that of Gold Kip. Ho destroyed tlio original telegram, and that was tho reason why it could not: be found. No person was in collusion witli him over tho alteration to tho telegram. Accused pleaded guilty, mid was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. Bail was allowed in a sum of «tSO.