Percy R. Smyrak, Of Waipawa Board

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 2

Percy R. Smyrak, Of Waipawa Board

PLEA OF NOT GUILTY (Special to * 1 Times. ”) HASTINGS, Jan. 29. .Percy Rae'Durn aiuync charged at tlie Waipukurau Magistrate’s Court this morning that on September 29, 1936, being the secretary of the Waipawa Hospital Board, he did steal the sum of £45 14/9 from the board. On behalf of the defendant Mr. C. G. Harker elected to be tried by jury. Detective-Sergeant H. Nuttall appeared for the police and Mr. C. G. | Harker for Smyrk. Mr. J. Millar, S.M., was on the Bench. Patrick Sharpin, a cashier employed by tho Waipawa Hospital Board, Waipukurau, since March, 1935, said that ho controlled a cash account in which ho was allowed to hold £SO. He was allowed to draw cheques, and to pay i accounts on behalf of tho board. When I ho took over tho petty cash there was an 1.0. U. in the petty cash for approximately £l9, signed by Smyrk. Ho could not say what the 1.0. U. was for and asked tho person handing over the cash. He was told that it was on account of salary. He was allowed to pay only veyr small accounts of salary out of the cash account. The 1.0. U. for £l9 was for salary, and not for salary in advance. On March 31, 1936, his petty cash account was all square, the money owing by Mr. Smyrk having been repaid. For some time after that advances were mado from the petty cash to Mr. Smyrk on account of salary. There were repaid in July, 1936. Sharpin ’s cash account was all square. The amount paid out between March and July would be between £5 and £24. All these advances were made out of tho imprest account. Witness went on annual leave in July, 1936, and tho petty cash account was handed over account before handing over because to Miss Atkins. He squared his cash Mr. Smyrk drew his salary in advance and a portion of tho salary was used to square the petty cash account. For some time there had been an arrangement with Mr. Smyrk whereby witness hold portion of his salary, which amounted to £44 8/10 a month. I There were no set instructions given witness by Smyrk. He was just i told to pay his accounts for him and ho used to give £25 each month to Mrs ) Smyrk. That left a balance of about £l9 which he held on the behalf of Smyrk. At the end of July, the money to pay Mrs Smyrk was advanced out of the imprest account because there was not sufficient of Smyrk's July salary with which to pay her, He paid this money to Mrs Smyrk out of the imprest account on Smyrk’s instructions. At the end of August, 1936, Smyrk’s salary was received by Sharpin and he paid £25 to Mrsj Smyrk. The £l9 which was loft was put into the imprest account, but left a deficiency of approximately £5. During September Smyrk owed the imprest account £5. scnooi Account During September Smyrk liedl a conversation with Sharpin about an account which he had received from Wellington and which required to be paid. The account was from the Marsden School, Wellington, for £45 14/9. The account was for the schooling of Smyrk’s daughter. Smyrk requested he should pay this. Sharpin told him that as he was £5 overdrawn in the imprest account he did not have the money to pay. He said he did not want to have the salary drawn in advance because the auditor had given instructions prior to that that it was not to be done. At this time., witness was holding a board cheque for £lB 12/2 drawn for the payment of board members' travelling expenses for the half-year. The cheque was drawn .in September on tho ■ authority of the September meeting. Smyrk and witness discussed what should be done with the cheque. It was first suggested that the cheque be cashed and the money posted to the board members, but as some of tho vouchers were not returned, they decided to hold it and pay it to members at the August meeting. Eventually witness cashed the cheque on September 25, 1936, at the Bank of New Zealand, Waipukurau. Ho drew the cheque in varying sums of money in order to be able to pay each member without having to make up any exchange. The eheque which was used was drawn on the Waipawa Hospital Board, Waipu. kurau, and signed by Smyrk and two members of the board. When witness received that money from the bank, he took it back to the office and it was locked in the safe, this being on September 29, 1936. Witness remitted £43 14/9 of that money to the Marsden j School. Board’s Money. Witness obtained two money orders ono for f£-lQ and one for 14/9.' He had to get two because he could not got one for more than £4O. On the account to the Marsden School there was a reference to discount if paid by a certain date. The discount was taken off the account before witness obtained the money orders. This wae done by Smyrk. Witness used this sum of the board’s money to pay this account because he had insufficient in the imprest account and Smyrk was unable to draw his salary in advance to pay for it. When he handed witness the account and found that there was in sufficient money to pay the account witness suggested that the other money should be used. There was no letter along with the account. The receipt did not come back to witness at the end of September. Witness could not remember - what Smyrk was owing to imprest account at the end of September. Tho board was to meet again on October 20 1936. and witness was required to produce the amount of the cheque to pay the board members. Witness drew Smyrk’s attention to the fact that the amount borrowed had not been made good and told him there was insufficient money in the imprest account to meet the £45 advanced to him, and for witness to square his imprest ac-

count it would be necessary for Smyrk to draw his October salary in I advance. He drew his salary in advance. The cheque was cashed on tho * morning of tho board meeting, October | 20. Sharpin used tho money to pay tho travelling expenses of the members. ! During the month of October, after , the board meeting, Smyrk borrowed more money from the imprest account, and at the. end of October Smyrk was still owing money to the imprest account although he had drawn his salary in advance. During November further advances of approximately £ls were made, and at this | time Sharpin had not paid ail the members their travelling expenses. He ( got over the difficulty by using Smyrk’s October salary and some of the money from the imprest account. Sharpin could not remember tho amount that the imprest account was short, but in addition to the £45 14/9 for the school account he took some money from the travelling expenses to pay other accounts for Airs Smyrk. Then he had to resort to the impressed account to make up tho travelling expenses. When the audit inspector arrived in September he interviewed Sharpin and again on Sejitember 22, when Sharpin made a financial statement, but he did not know if it was shown to Smyrk. At the time the statement was drawn up there was a deficiency of £55 odd, but he was able to make the deficiency only £36 4/8. He did not know that the difference of £l9 had been accounted for by receipts found in the safe since then. The amount of £36-odd was advanced to Smyrk and used by him Smyrk’s November salary was drawn ou the day of the board meeting in November. Mr Sharpin thought that it was drawn in advance for November. A portion of the deficiency at the time of the Audit Department's visit was part of tho money borrowed to send to Karori, Wellington. From July onwards to September 2 Smyrk was never square with tho imprest account. Financial Statement. Sharpin recognised the financial statement produced in Court as the ouq he had mad© to the audit inspector. The item “Joan £4” represented money advanced to Smyrk’s daughter when she was returning to school, and was made on Smyrk s instructions. Anj other item of “books £3”, represented money paid to a bookmaker on Smyrk’s I account. Sharpin, continuing, said that the amount of £37 0/6 was about the amount owing to his imprest account in September. The item “Russell (£l'* represented a payment made to a porter at the hospital for Smyrk. Witness did not know what for. The item “80/- Tavistock” was money paid to the Tavistock Hotel. “£7 10/Trentkain” was an amount advanced from his imprest account to Air Smyrk on the Thursday before Labour Day. At this time he was already owing the imprest account about £39. The item ‘‘£s books” was money paid to a bookmaker. The item “Trentham £s*' was a further advance to Air Smyrk on Labour Day. On October 30 there was “Airs Smyrk £25” and • following that “books £2 15/-” . ( Advance Salary If Smyrk had not drawn his salary in advance he would have been owing witness’s imprest account £B4 13 ; 6. After drawing his salary in advance on November 1, Smyrk owed the imprest account £4O 4/8. Just after this witness paid an item “Taxes ; £lO 12/6,” . iepresenting Smyrk’s income tax. : There was another item “£2 15/6 books”. The whole of this money was paid out of the board’s money in witness’s possession At no time from the end of September to the beginning of December was f Smyrk square with witness’s account ’ of the Waipawa Hospital Board. All j the moneys mentioned in this finan- i cial statement were moneys drawn | from accounts of the Waipawa Hospital Board. Witness did not know why Smyrk’s salary was given to him to control. He had controlled it since last ! January. Witness did not think Smyrk had any special reason for getting him to look after his salary. He had never used the board’s money for his own 1 private use. , In reply to Mr Harker witness said that there had never been any sugges- ; ' tion in all witness's transactions with ' i Smyrk that he would benefit in any way from the board's money. Since January, 1936, he had been practically acting as Smyrk's banker. Smyrk did ask witness to make up a statement of • his account but not as early as Sep- , tember; it was sometime in October. • ’ He had asked consistently for it. It j • ; was obvious to witness that Air Smyrk 1 I did not know how ho -was standing in ; QaUibar. Ago of Witness. In reply to the Bench witness said ho knew that ho was at least £45 14/5 short. Witness stated that he was 19. He had been cashier since March, 1930. To Detective-Sergeant Nuttall wit- ■ ness stated that he was getting a salary of £IOB. W. H. Rathbone, chairman of the Waipawa Hospital Board, said that Smyrk had been secretary to the board since July, 1927, commencing a t a salary of £4OO, and from April 1 last ho received £525 a year. He was a married man with one child. As secretary of the board Smyrk had no authority to us% the board's funds to pay his private accounts, and members of the board had no idea that ho was doing so. Witness could not remember the exact ! date, but thought it was about sixyears ago that he spoke to Smyrk about ' drawing his salary in advance, but thi-s j v?as not the result of something said by the Audit Department. He had dis- | covered it himself. Detective-Inspector Nuttall then read a letter to the Audit Department from witness giving an explanation as to why Smyrk had drawn his salary in : advance. Witness said Smyrk knew quite well that he was not allowed to draw his salary in advance. 41 And 1 ; bavo had no occasion to warn him since—that is, not until November ( last, ’ ’ said witness. 4 4 Any cheque j drawn for members' travelling expenses " should have been paid to the members j (