CAR CONVERSION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 December 1942, Page 2

CAR CONVERSION

TWO MAORI SOLDIERS BEFORE COURT. ADMITTED TO PROBATION. In the Masterton Court this morning two Maori youths, Te Aringa I. Kopua and Reginald Hooper, soldiers, were admitted to probation for two years on a joint charge of having unlawfully converted a motor car valued at £2OO, the property of Mi - R. F. R. Beetham. On a charge of driving without a licence Kopua was fined £l. Messrs E. G. Eton and L. J. Taylor, J’s.P., were on the Bench.

Senior-Sergeant C. Murphy said that the motor car was removed from Queen Street and driven along South Road where it left the road and struck a fence. The damage to the car amounted to £29 7s 6d and the fence cost £5 to repair. The owner of the property reported the accident to the police and at the station the two youths in the car made false statements, gave false names and addresses and told a tissue of lies. Kopua, the driver, showed signs of having had liquor out not sufficiently to be charged with drunkenness. The youths were released late on Christmas Eve and the theft of the car was reported later. They were again located early in the morning. Kopua had never had a driver’s licence and was absent without leave from a northern military camp. Both were fust offenders. Senior-Sergeant Murphy stressed the fact that the charge was a serious one. “You are a disgrace to your ancestors,” said Mr Eton. He added that he was astounded that soldiers could disgrace the King’s uniform as the accused had done. He hoped that they would take advantage of the chance the Bench had given them.