FINES TOTAL £40

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20079, 27 October 1939, Page 2

FINES TOTAL £4O

RECEIVING CHARGES STOLEN PROPERTY PURCHASES FROM MAORIS WAIROA PROSECUTION (Special to the Herald.) WAIROA. this day. Four charges of receiving property allegedly stolen from various stores in Wairoa were preferred against an Assyrian storekeeper. Simon BafTol, aged CO. when he appeared before Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Police Court in Wairoa yesterday. RafTol pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr. C. V. Chamberlain, the prosecution being conducted by Sergeant D. Clark. Evidence as to the theft of the articles was given by the boys concerned. The principal offender was said to be the one who had told his companions that RafTol would buy the goods and RafTol had made purchases from them all, paying varying amounts for them. The first of these witnesses said that he had thought that RafTol knew the articles were stolen, but, crossexamined, another hoy said that one of the boys had told RafTol that he was selling the articles for his father, who had purchased them from, a traveller and now wished to dispose of them.

This latter boy, described as the ring-leader of the trio,', detailed the articles he had stolen and said that he had sold them to the accused. He had told Raffol that he had got the property from his home and, on each occasion on which ho visited Raffol's shop, the latter had purchased articles from him. Under cross-examination, this boy said that he had told Raffol that he did not steal the articles. Articles Identified

Following evidence of identification given by shopkeepers and employees, Sergeant Clark said that, when questioned. Raffol told him that he had bought cards only, but when the boys concerned were taken into the shop they readily identified articles which they had sold to Raffol. Constable J. McAlpine read a statement made by the accused in which he said that one of the boys had said that he was selling the articles for his father. Another boy had sold him some articles, but he did not ask this boy where he obtained the property as he hacl seen this boy with the boy who had told him that he was selling the articles for his father and had presumed that this boy also was selling some of the articles purchased by the first boy’s father. Raffol had stated that he would not have purchased the gear had he known it to be stolen. To Mr. Chamberlain the witness said that one of the boys, in his presence, said that he had told RafTol that he had' obtained the articles from his father.

Explanation lly Accused

In evidence, Raffol said that the boys, on their first visit, said that they had not stolen the articles, one saying that he was selling {hem on behalf of his father. He did not want to make the purchases, but did so as the Maoris generally were good customers of his. Answering Mr, Luxford, Raflol said that the prices he had given the boys for the property were fair ones. He was not suspicious when the boys kept coming back to make sales, but, in his 38 years of business in Wairoa, he had not bought similarly from Maoris. Mr. Chamberlain told His Worship that Raffol was struggling in his business to make it pay and had never been before the court before. This was the first time the question of receiving had been heard in Wairoa and he asked that the ease be taken as a warning.

The accused was convicted on each charge, fines of £2(l being inflicted on two of the charges, Raffol being convicted and discharged on the other two charges.