Wave Of Petty Crime

Suva Has Trouble With Curfew and Liquor Laws

SOMETHING like a minor crime wave persists in Fiji and a procession of Fijians and Indians continue to appear before Acting Resident Magistrate, Mr. Ragnar Hyne, on petty charges.

Some are for failing to observe the cur few, but many more are for being unlaw fully under the influence of liquor, or being unlawfully on licensed premises; and no fines or other measures appear, as yet, to be a deterrent to offenders.

The increasing number of these offences has caused Mr. Hyne to inquire what attitude the publicans are taking, and to ask why they do not remove offenders from their premises.

But the problem is not as simple as that. Technically, publicans commit a breach of the law if they allow a native to remain on their premises. But, in these days, men are standing ten-deep around Suva’s bars, and it is difficult for any publican to know who is there and who is not. It is alleged that Fijians sneak into the bars, hiding behind the crowd, while someone else buys drinks for them.

Many and ingenuous are the excuses put up by offenders, drawing forth sar castic comment from the presiding magistrate.

In a recent case, where a Fijian soldier stated that he had been literally dragged into the bar by a visiting soldier, Mr.

Ragnar Hyne remarked that it was really pathetic how Fijians and Indians were being “dragged into bars.’’ He said that such an excuse made no impression on him—it was no compliment to the intel ligence of the people who had to listen to such pleas.