VIOLENT BLOWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 974, 17 May 1930, Page 1

VIOLENT BLOWS

ATTACK ON PASSENGER IN MOTOR-BUS

ASSAILANT FINED £5

“It was one of the most violent blows I have ever seen,” said a witness at the Police Court this morning - , describing the attack made upon a fellow passenger in the St. Heliers Bay bus last evening by John Henry. Henry was fined £5. Henry, a labourer, aged 39, admitted striking Richard Henry Stark. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of using indecent language.

Stark, a builder, bore unmistakable signs of the violence of the blows. He said the assault was entirely unprovoked. He had been sitting in the bus when Henry asked him whether he had been talking to Mrs. Henry. Witness had said no, and Henry struck him twice with, such force that he bled profusely. Stark’s evidence was corroborated by other passengers, including Samuel Plarris, a schoolmaster, who said the man had used indecent language. Henry's wife said Stark had been talking to her. ‘‘This is the first time my husband has been in a place like this,” she added.

Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M.: Let’s hope it will be the last. Default of the fine was fixed at 14 days’ imprisonment. “What time do you w'ant to pay?” asked the magistrate.

Accused: Three months. The Magistrate: Three months! Three days is all you’ll get. Henry w r as convicted and discharged on the count of using the language.