Stupid Fraud in Fiji

Bogus PIM Advt. Directed Against CSR Officials

WE regret to state that some person—believed to be a Euro pean and clearly of criminal character succeeded in getting past our guard in November and caused to be inserted in the Pacific Islands Monthly of November an advertisement which has cast ridicule upon well-known members of the staff of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd., in Fiji.

We are tendering this public apology to the men concerned — Mr. G. Alison, chief engineer for the CSR Co. in Lautoka, and Mr. J. H.

McMillan, chief engineer at Rarawai, The circumstances, which indicate a cunning fraud, planned to defame at least two well known CSR officials, are set out below.

On November 17, there arrived in this office a letter, so mis-spelled as to suggest it was written by an illiterate person, and signed “G.

Alison & Nagan C 0.,” in pen-printed letters. The writer sent 30/- in Fiji notes, and said: “If you please to print in your papers the PIM of our advertse ment because our business is to big now and covers all the northern division. So please will you kindly have down in your papers immedi ately, so we can get in touch with the other parts of the Pacific island.”

The advertisement was enclosed.

It began: “Under the guidance of my friend, partner and shareholder, C. G. Alison, Chief Engineer, CSR Mill, Lautoka”; announced that the firm was undertaking certain engineering work; and concluded; “ ‘Snowy’ MacMillian, the Chief Engineer, is our helping hand from Rarawai Mill. G. ALISON & A.

NAGAN CO, Farmers Welfare Ser vice, Ba, Fiji.”

The advertising executive who re ceived this missive should have checked back with Messrs. Alison and McMillan. Instead, the thing was accepted at its face value, and was published in November PIM.

The attention of the PIM pub lisher was not directed to the “advertisement” until he received a letter, early in January, from Mr.

Clive Elliot, Chief Manager for the CSR Co. in Fiji; and we now have learned— The “advertisement” was entirely bogus.

It is part of a campaign which has been going on for three years 'to defame Mr. Alison.

Anonymous letters have been written to the CSR Co. management from time to time, accusing Mr. Alison of having some sort of partner

ship with Nagan. These letters have been placed in the hands of the Fiji police, but the police have not captured the culprit.

Mr. A. Nagan, who runs an engineer ing business in Ba, insists that he has no knowledge of the writers of such letters, and emphatically disclaims any knowledge of or con nection with the “advertisement” sent to the PIM.

Neither Mr. Alison nor Mr. McMillan has any connection whatsoever with the Nagan firm.

We take this, the first opportunity, of expressing our regret that we un wittingly allowed the Pacific Islands Monthly to be used in this way to annoy Mr. Alison and Mr. McMillan; and we wish to publicise the fact that the “advertisement” was entirely bogus.

We have sent all the documents in our possession to the Chief Officer of the Fiji Police, with a request that every effort be made to track down the person responsible for this stupid fraud. We believe that there is a very good chance that the police may succeed —the criminal concerned unwittingly pro vided, in his carefully mis-spelt documents, a series of clues which may be of value to the police.

Pacific Publications Pty.

Ltd.

10/1/56.