FORBES SENTENCED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 76, 19 August 1914, Page 2

FORBES SENTENCED.

iFOUR .MONTHS' OIAED LABOR. FOIL ALTERING A CHEQUE. William Forbes, who at one time wove the uniform of the New Zealand Police Force, and who was more recently a representative of the A.M.P. Society in Taranaki, was chavged'at the Wellington sessions of the Supreme Court on Saturday with forgery and false pretences at the recent meeting of the Wellington Racing Club at Trentham. Mr. P. W. Jackson appeared for prisoner, who pleaded not guilty. Evidence called' for the prosecution showed that on Trent'nam racecourse Forbes went to the Wellington Racing Club's secretary (Mr A. E. Whyte) with a cheipie, in order hat Mr Whyte might endorse it, ami so enable it,to be cashed at the totalisator house. .Mr Whyte recpiired another endorsement lirst, and the. Commissioner of Police (Mr. .1. Cullcn) endorsed a cheque drawn by incused for .t2O. On seeing this, Mr Whyte added his signature. Subsequently Forbes altered the. cheque, to make 'it read £l2O, and cashed it for Unit amount without informing the two gentlemen who had placed their signatures on the back. On the second day of the. races he. uttered a cheque for C2O, and received cash. The cheques were returned marked, "No funds." (living evidence in his defence, Forbes admitted altering the cheque, but said he was not aware there was anything wrong in doing so. He claimed to have seen a way of meeting bis liabilities if he had had time, although he knew that there, was no money in the bank at the time when the cheques were drawn, lie declined to answer a question as to whether he had a few weeks previously altered a cheque in Napier after it had been endorsed. The jury, after retiring for ten minutes, returned a verdict of guilty on all counts, with a very strong recommendation to mercy. | Forties handed in a written statement which His Honor promised to consider. Wellington. August IS. At the Supreme Court, William Forties wa-, sentenced to four months' imprisonment, with hard labor. It was explained that previouslv prisoner had borne a good character. As A.M.P. Soci. ly representative in Taranaki. he drew a salary of between .C7CO and .C:!tl!l. Plunging on the racecourse, counsel stated, had been the cause of his downfall.