SUPREME COURT

Hokitika Guardian, 2 August 1927, Page 3

SUPREME COURT

(By Telegraph Per Press Association. AUCKLAND. Aug. 1. At the Supreme Court, Wong Kuon Fee, a Chinese, aged 21. was charged with a serious offence against a young Maori girl. The Judge said, however, that the .Maori method of computing ages by . memory teas unreliable, but as the girl’s age could not he definitely established, there was an insuperable difficulty in the case. Under instructions front the Bench, the jury returned a. verdict of not guilty, and accused was discharged. Tl l o evidence was to the effect that the Maori girl and her sister had lived with two Chinese in the parents’ house. The parents were agreeable, and also to accused and the girl being married when the latter was IG. At the time of the alleged offences the girl was less than 1G years of age. This was not challenged at any previous stage, hut a new aspect was put on the case when parish records were produced showing the girl was baptised fn February, 1912. The mother was definite in her evidence that the child was ahout a year ,c(ld wlictn .christened. Judge Stringer pointed out this would make the girl over 16 in May of the present year, when the offences were alleged to have been committed. PALMERSTON X., Aug. 2.

The August session of Supreme Court commenced this morning. The calendar on this occasion, stated his Honour, Justice Reed, in his address to the Grand Jury, is a short one, hut unfortunately it contains one serious charge, that of murder. His Honour did not think there was any difficulty in returning true bills in the case in which Deva Kala was charged with murder at Pahiatun. The evidence showed open facts of a prima facie case of murder, but whether the charge could afterwards be reduced to one of manslaughter was a matter for the common jury.

True hills were returned against William James Cox, alleged theft and fraud; Deva Kalla, alleged murder; Kenneth Humphries, alleged theft of cattle. The charge against Kai'la will he heard to-morrow.