UNUSUAL CASE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 51, 28 January 1938, Page 12

UNUSUAL CASE.

HEARING AT NELSON. Per Press Association. NELSON, Jan. 27. Two women who recently came to Nelson under arrangements to live as mistresses with Chinese at Stoke and Richmond respectively were before Mr T. E. Maunsell, S.M., charged with being persons without visible lawful means of support. The Magistrate reserved his decision until to-morrow, and the women remain in custody meantime. Detective J. McLeod conducted the case for the police and Mr J. R. Kerr appeared for accused. Detective McLeod stated that Pat Lee, alias Elsie Evelyn Wright, a domestic, aged 28, and Olga Corkran, alias Leta May Clayton and Margaret Edna Lewis, domestic, aged 25, arrived at Nelson on January 13 in company with a Chinaman. Since then they had been living with Chinese at Stoke and Richmond respectively. On account of complaints Constable J. M. Bourke visited the houses and later, with Detective F. Hayhurst, arrested the two women. Constable Bourke stated that he went to the market garden of Hop Chong at Stoke on January 18. In the kitchen was Corkran, who said she was on holiday. Witness gave her a warning that it would be better for her to leave the district, and she said she would do so as soon as she could get in touch with her companion, Pat Lee. However,. she said she was having a good time and did not want to go. On January 25 he and Detective Hay,hurst went to the gardens and accused Corkran was in a double bed -with her own and a man’s clothing, in the room. Corkran said a Chinaman was keeping her.

Going to the house of ye King at Richmond, the police found Lee. who, in answer to a question as to her means of livelihood, said 6he would tell the Court.

To Mr Kerr, the constable said he learned accused was staying at a Chinaman’s house. He saw Lee only at Ye King’s place at Richmond. The constable said the women were not on the street. They were in Chinamen’s houses. When arrested, Lee had £3 or £4. If she had been living with a white man he would have arrested her in similar circumstances. He could not say that Lee lived with Ye King. Both had about the same amount of money.. Detective Havhurst said that he accompanied Constable Bourke to Stoke.. In Corkran’s possession was found a list of addresses of Chinamen and eight photographs of the two women with Chinese. To Mr Kerr, the detective said both had money. Mr Kerr said there were no doubt unsavoury features in the case, but he contended that, dealing with the law part of it, the evidence was insufficient to show the constable had reasonable cause to believe the women did not have lawful means of support. It was an undesirable living, he agreed, but it was his duty to contest whether the actions were lawful. The Magistrate commented that a woman was the custodian of her own body so long as she was not a nuisance to the public. _ Pat Lee, in evidence, said she was living with Ye King as his mistress at Stoke. She had a home and everything else she wanted. The £3 12s 6d she had when arrested was given her by Detective McLeod, she said that when in Wellington she lived in Taranaki Street with Chinese. She was married to a Chinaman in 1932, but divorced him. ... , , , . Olga Corkran said the bad been before the Court before. She was living at Ye King’s gardens. She met him at Wellington at Christmas and made arrangements to come to Nelson to live with him. Ye King gave her money. She had a home with him and had arranged to stay. ■ ~ „ The Magistrate said he would reserve his decision 'until to-morrow morning. It was not for him to be concerned with morals, but with tlie lav. and he had to decide if accused had visible lawful means of support or not.