| Melbourne: Australia's most
famous freeloader, 57-year old Paul Charles Doza, was let off a gaol sentence
by Melbourne magistrate Julian Fitz-Gerald in December last year after the
magistrate heard that Doza had spent Christmas Day in the watch-house savouring
the mixed delights of prison food after treating himself to a festive meal
at two Melbourne restaurants before leaving without paying the bill. Doza,
a one-time chef and waiter, has a string of previous convictions for similar
offences. At his last sentencing in Brisbane in 1993 - where he was described
as an "habitual offender" - he explained to the magistrate that he "firmly
believed" he was used in military mind research. He claimed that he was acting
on hypnotic suggestion whenever he ordered a meal and left without paying.
Magistrate Fitz-Gerald warned Doza that the next time he was bought before
the court for a similar offence he could expect at least 6 to 8 months in
gaol, regardless of whether he was an ex-secret agent or not. (Source:
The Age)
Ipswich: A thief who stole a
car with a leaky transmission was caught red-handed by police within a few
hours of committing the offence thanks to his own stupidity. The car's owner,
who discovered the theft when he returned home, simply followed the trail
of leaky transmission fluid left by the thief to a local service station
and asked the operator if anyone had been in that afternoon asking to buy
a top-up. "Yes," said the operator, "as a matter of fact someone came in
for that an hour ago". Police found that the thief had paid for the fluid
with his credit card and that the whole transaction had been captured on
the service station's security video..... (Source: The Queensland
Times)
Adelaide: Two elderly women
aged 78 and 63 will will face court shortly after they were arrested for
allegedly plotting to hire a contract "hitman" to murder the older woman's
81-year-old estranged husband. Detectives arrested the pair after an undisclosed
sum of money was paid to an undercover officer posing as a hitman following
a two-week "sting" which involved officers from the Major Crime Task Force,
the Drug Task Force and STAR Division. Police said the crime was unusual
for women their ages. "Normally they let nature take its course," a spokesman
said. (Source: The Adelaide Advertiser)
Brisbane: Five police officers
were injured in a wild brawl with three women who were allegedly taunting
them while they were waiting for breakfast at an inner-city MacDonalds outlet
last month. The fight erupted shortly before 6am when the women - one aged
17 and two aged 22 - entered the Eagle Street Pier restaurant, took up a
position behind the four male and two female officers, and began taunting
them. Witnesses said that this quickly escalated to full-blown abuse and
when one officer stepped in and arrested the ringleader after repeated warnings
to "tone down" her behaviour, the remaining two attacked the officers, punching
and kicking them. Five of the six officers present were injured in the brawl,
with two requiring hospital treatment and one left concussed. "These three
really got stuck in," a spokesman said. "There were a lot of walking wounded
down at the station this morning. It's not what you expect with a McMuffin,
is it?" (Source: The Courier-Mail)
Germany: A spate of Santa Claus
attacks over Christmas somewhat dampened festive spirits in Germany last
year with a variety of criminals disguised as Santa Claus holding up stores
and - in one case - sexually molesting an electronics company employee. According
the police, the Santa crime wave may have been due to amateur crooks feeling
hard-pressed to raise cash for Christmas gifts, or it may have been due to
hardened criminals taking advantage of the Christmas crowds to avoid detection.
"It's very difficult to spot one Santa amongst hundreds at this time of year,"
a spokesman said. "And randomly frisking Santa usually upsets the kids."
(Source: Bild am Sonntag) |
