Hundreds of central North Island beehives stolen

A man who stole more than 330 beehives, costing the industry at least $184,000,...........
Williams told police that someone else had told him to put beehives in orchards in the Te Puke area.
Because he didn’t own any hives, he fulfilled the contract by stealing the hives and placing them in the orchards at night.

Man stole 333 beehives, causing $184k loss to the industry

He was stung with a hefty reparation order and 11 months' home detention.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Alastair]

Pretty much should read "Idiot steals beehives but victims claim inflated values"

However in sympathy with the victims and having had hives of my own stolen in times past, I can say the emotional impact is big. For one thing, you are wondering if you can ever put bees in that site again cos they may get stolen also. And secondly, having done all the work making those hives and the love and care that has gone into that, the thought some lowlife has run off with them and will probably not care for them properly sucks.
And lastly, these guys got their hives back but in bad shape and some with AFB. So the victims have to do the nasty job of burning them.

In my view the punishment dealt to the thief was appropriate. Instead of slamming him in jail and the victims get no reparations, he has been left out in the community but has to pay $300.00 a week until $78,000.00 is reached. Valuing the stolen hives at $260.00 each.

 

[tristan]

keep in mind that $300 a week becomes $0 next week. then its weeks of court orders etc before its $5, then $0 again.
highly unlikely they will get any decent money back. crims just string it along until people give up.

i wonder if there was any truth to the claim someone told him to put them there. how was him or someone else expected to get paid. there is clearly a lot more to this story.

 

[Alastair]

keep in mind that $300 a week becomes $0 next week. then its weeks of court orders etc before its $5, then $0 again.
highly unlikely they will get any decent money back. crims just string it along until people give up.

You are right of course. At this rate it will take him more than 5 years to pay it back, meantime the victim is wearing it, and that is IF he makes the payments. But as the judge said, there is the real amount, and there is what the criminal could be expected to be capable of paying, so she went with that. Pretty sure that 5 years of paying $300.00 a week will have this guy wishing he had never done it.

And then there is the cost to the orchardists who ordered hives but didn't get them, no doubt costing them a portion of their crop. No compensation for them.

i wonder if there was any truth to the claim someone told him to put them there. how was him or someone else expected to get paid. there is clearly a lot more to this story.

Of course there is. The thief has not revealed who his accomplices are, so has not fully cooperated with the police. The mastermind is still out there and will find some other flunky to do his stuff for him plus take the blame, next time.

 

[John B]

I have always thought that where reparations are granted that they should be paid by the government straight up and then the Government would have the responsibility for getting the money back. This of course would only work if there were severe and immediately implemented penalties for failing to meet your obligations.
None of this of course will ever happen but we can all help deter hive thefts by having a policy of when we catch someone in the act we give them an in-depth close-up look at beekeeping so that they can learn and understand why they shouldn't steal our hives and just how unpleasant it is to have your face rubbed into a beehive .

 

[Alastair]

Something like that did happen once many years ago when I lived in Gisborne. My flatmate together with his girlfriend bought a petrol station, had to put themselves into a lot of debt to do it. They employed a guy who was filling up all his buddies cars and not charging them. So at first my flatmate thought there must be a leak in the underground tank. But they had that checked out and nothing wrong. Soon everybody and their dog were going to this garage to get free fill ups.
When the inevitable happened and my flatmate figured what was happening, and then got proof for it, it went to court. The amount of fuel that went unpaid for was calculated and the guy ordered to pay restitution, at some paltry amount per week. But the judge took pity on my flatmate and his girlfriend because they were out a huge sum of money, could not pay bills, and on the brink of loosing everything plus being left with debt.
So he ordered they be paid out, they got a cheque for the whole thing. I cannot remember who it was the money came from though. I assume the crim would have had to make his payments to whoever that was.