FORGED ORDERS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 July 1928, Page 4

FORGED ORDERS

C anvasser committed for ' SENTENCE.

DUNEDIN, July 13

11l the Police Court today a young man, Henry Milton Bates, pleaded giulty to four charges of forging documents and was committed for sentence. 'Hie first charge was to the effect that at Christchurch he forged an order for the supply of goods valued -at £5 10s purporting to he signed by I>. Wills with intent that it should he acted upon as if it were genuine. The other charges of a similar nature involved sums of £.3, £lO and £lO, purporting to be signed by H. Hodson, G. Scott, atid M. Cole respectively.

Phillip Spewe Bett, manufacturers’ agent, stated that accused was canvassing for orders for him at Christchurch, his commission being 15 per ceiit. On production of an order witness reserved 5 per cent to protect liimself from firms which might go out of business, and 5 per cent was paid to accused on delivery of the goods. About the end of April he became suspicious about some orders which were coining in, and about a week later witness went to Christchurch and investigated one of the orders. He saw accused and told him lie had tried to find the man who gave' this order, hut could not. Accused said it was a genuine order, but witness told him ho was suspicions that' Other orders were hot genuine. Later it transpired that numbers of orders were not genuine. However, witness agreed to give accused another

■chance and returned to Dunedin. Threo more orders came in and it turned out that two of the people concerned knew nothing About the transactions. The other did not reply to witness’s letter. He then wrote to Bates and told him to return the samples. After a second request for the samples accused replied that he had. no money. > Witness then asked him to send them back through an express company. Four out of thirty-two orders were the subject of the charges. A sum of £22 9s in all had been paid to accused for orders, against which witness owed him 12s 3d commission. Detective Russell said that when he interviewed accused in the detective, office at Dunedin he admitted that a statement he had made to DetectiveSergeant O’Brien at Christchurch was quite correct.