THEFT OF FUR COAT

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 49, 22 November 1926, Page 8

THEFT OF FUR COAT

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT “You have made a very long statement, but 1 will be very short. You will be sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, with hard labour.” These remarks were made by Mr. \V. G. Riddell, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court on Saturday morning to Stanley William Roy-Cliattergi, aged 28, who was charged with stealing a fur coat, valued at £25, the property of Rachael Rvan. The accused, who described himself as a barrister, pleaded not guilty to the offence. Evidence was given by the complainant, who stated she left the coat hanging’ behind her diningroom door on November 15, and missed it the next morning. I. Triestcr, a second-hand dealer, said that the accused brought the coat to him for sale on November 15, and asked £5 for it. He stated that either he or his wife had purchased the coat in America, at a cost of 150 dollars. Witness gave the accused £2 10s. and an attache case, previously sold by Roy-Cliattergi, for the coat. Detectives Hunt and Hayhurst gave evidence that the accused made a long statement at the Detective Office ’’ to the effect that he bought the coat from a man on the wharf for £3. The man, who was a complete stranger to him, stated that the price of the coat in America was 150 dollars. Subjected to a cross-examination in the witness-box at the hands of ChiefDetective Ward, who prosecuted, accused emphatically denied that he had stolen the coat in question. He admitted he was short of money at the present time, and looking for work “You were in possession of the coat half an hour after it was stolen, according to the owner’s story, were you not?” asked the Chief-Detective. “That’s what it seems like, although it’s rather unfortunate for me,” answered the accused. Chief-Detective Ward stated there was nothing previously known against Rov-Chattergi. who, according to his own story, had only been a few months in New Zealand.