Greytown pensioner resorts to fake bomb

A pensioner’s frustration over a bank’s ‘‘incorrect calculation’’ on his term deposit culminated in him threatening staff with a fake bomb.

David James Taylor, of Greytown, carried a gym bag containing a homemade bomb-like device into the Masterton ANZ bank last December and threatened to set it off with a remote control.

The 76-year-old was sentenced to 90 hours of community work for his misguided plan to get the bank to admit its mistake. The irony was his extreme actions ended up getting a resolution to his initial bank complaint.

According to Judge Peter Hobbs, who sentenced Taylor in Masterton District Court yesterday, the bank accepted that it had made an incorrect calculation on Taylor’s term deposit.

The judge said although he understood that Taylor was frustrated, he exercised ‘‘particularly poor judgment’’ in threatening everybody in the bank. ‘‘It was a remarkably silly thing to do.’’

The police summary of facts said Taylor believed the bank owed him around $2000 and he had spent years trying to get the money reimbursed.

On December 12, Taylor went into the bank while there were ‘‘numerous’’ staff and members of public in the building. He placed Judge Peter Hobbs

a bag containing the fake bomb in the centre of the bank and went to a teller to make a deposit.

Taylor then asked to see a manager but was told they were unavailable. He then advised the teller that he had placed a bomb and showed her a device which he said was its remote control.

The teller rushed away and another ANZ employee asked Taylor to leave, which he did.

Police said staff were significantly affected by his actions.

The judge described the incident as ‘‘relatively serious offending’’ and though Taylor might find it difficult to carry out a community-based sentence because of age and ill health, community work was appropriate.

‘‘It was a remarkably silly thing to do.’’