FORGED CHEQUE DECISION.
IMPORTANT SINGAPORE
RULING.
THE HO HONG BANK MUST BEAR LOSS.
THE
HONGKONG TELEGRAPH,
ROCKET DISASTER OCCURS.
TWO KILLED IN MISHAP IN PHILIPPINES.
OTHERS ALSO SUFFER.
Manila, Feb. 20.
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1929.
CLAIM FOR GOODS ON BUS WITHOUT MOSLEM REVOLT
UNDELIVERED.
TICKET.
PUZZLING "ACCOUNTS IN CHINESE CASE,
OFFENCE DESCRIBED AS MEAN AND DISHONEST.
BOTH MEN ARRESTED. KOWLOON FOKI FINED.
•
GROWING.
KANSU OUTBREAK NOT SUPPRESSED.
20,000 REBELS MAKE A REAPPEARANCE.
CONDITIONS WORSE.
Mr. F. H. Loseby confessed that] Describing the act as mean 'and A young man and a boy were he was unable to make head or tall dishonest, Mr. T. S. Whyte Smith, killed and two others were lojured of accounts between two Chinese, at the Kowloon Magistracy this by an explosion on Sunday night, when he appeared for the defen-morning, fined a Chinese shop foki at the Quezon avenue, Lucena, dant in an action which was heard $25 for attempting to travel on a FIRM WINS CASE. Tayabas, on the occasion of the in- the Summary Court this morning, bus without paying his fare..
before the Puisne Judge (Mr. The defendant appeared before auguration of the Perez park and Justice Wood). The plaintiff was his Worship last week and was re- Quezon Avenue, Singapore, Feb. 23,
Woo Hak-fuk, trading as Park Yanmanded for his master to be enlled,
Shanghaf, Feb. 26. The killed were The Chief Justice (Sir William
"Kansu's doom hastene. The Gregorio Sing, No. 303-305 Reclamation but this morning, Sub-Inspector- Marison) delivered an important Agullar. 18, and Placido Mariano, Street, Mongkok and be sued Chau Stimson informed his Worship that Moslem rebellion is spreading." judgment on Saturday in the case 6; the injured were Margarita Al Sang, No. 263. Temple Street, Yau- the man was not present to Court These are dramatic sontonces in which A. Barbour and Co. bunduni and Sixto feal, according mati, for the sum of $358. 25 as the to give evidence. sued the Ho Hong Bank for to reports received last night by balance due for goods sold and de- Mr. W. Louey, manager of the from letters received in Shanghai Mr. F.X. D'Almada, Kowloon Motor Bus Company, gave from the Rev. W. W. Simpson, $10,000. His Lordship grafted Colonel Clarence H. Bowers, act-livered.
evidence that the defendant'e name of Kansu, revealing terrible con- the plaintiffs the amount claimed, ing chief of the constabulary in senior, was for the plaintiff. with costs..
telligence office.
Plaintiff stated that defendant did not appear in the company'aditions as a result of the Moslem Plaintiffs drew a' cheque on thei Details regarding the accident bought two brass propellors and six register.
outbreak and continual warfare. Ho long Bank on April 23, 1928, were meagre, but the colonel was pieces of iron piping, which deal said that the Company did not issue In reply, to his Worship, witness
It was reported that the out- in favour of Tan Ban Thong or led to understand that while ings were entered in the books. monthly tickets to business firms break had been suppressed, bearer for $2,520. On May 12, 19 Pablo Ribera, local explosive There was also an entry of a pay for the use of their employees. The but the missionary's message days later, the cheque was pre-manufacturer in Licena, was startment received on account, this sented for payment. It had on ing the fire-works, the victims to amount. Being $115. The total tickets were for the personal use of state that Instead of being sup the back an endorsement fil Chinese of a name very similar together with other spectators rush-price came to more than the amount the man named and were not trans-pressed it is spreading. but not the name of the payee. Oned near the main tube from which claimed but that figure was correct
rerockets were fired.
when the money paid on account presentation the cheque was pay-
For some reason a big firerocket was substracted. able for $12,520 (in words and figures) and the bank honoured failed to soar upward and instead ran amuck among the crowd and it for this amount.
The plaintiffs' cheques were exploded, hitting Aguilar and Mariano. The sparks from the prepared, for signature by the nianager, by their clerk, a man powder, injured Albunduni and named Eu "Kwet. Peng, and the leal. Their condition at the Tay- enabas Hospital was not serious, the cheque in the case
colonel was advised. pared.
Rivera was detained by the Lu- cena authorities for investigation
"Cheque Alterations. After signature the word "two" in connexion with the accident. wh was altered to "twelve." The "o" No formal arrest, however, in "two" was ebauged into an "e"made, and the letters "lve" were added
in the small space left between
the words "two" and "thousand" Marshall's case the interpolations In the cheque as originally pre-in words must have been very pared for signature,
Mr. Loseby, in explaining his de fence, said the issue was that the amount claimed had been paid in full.
Replying to Mr. Loueby, plaintiff stated that the pipes not been delivered because the fendant had not paid.
ferable.
to
Worse Than Ever, .*** The defendant stated that his master had purchased his ticket, General Feng Yu-halang sent which was' in the name of another a large army into the province to foki.
put down the fanatic Moslems In convicting the defendant, his who were reported
have Worship said that he would not slain several hundred thousand have remanded the case from last people in six months of frightful week if the conductor had not stat massacre, of which only bare de theed that the defendant had a month-tafla leaked out. It learnt now had ly ticket in February. That, how that the rebellion is more vigor-
de- ever, did not seem to have been the ous than ever.
care at all,
Plaintiff denied that the defen-
His Worship was of the opinion
Writing under the date of
Rome 20,000
dant said that the pipes were not that the defendant had pretended January 10, the Rev. Mr. Simpson
now returned, made according to sample. When that he owned a ticket in February states: "The Moslem rebels have he inspected the pipes he said they and continued with the pretence in were in order. Plaintiff continued March. He had given the bus Com-strong. They report that they that when he pressed the defendant pany a lot of trouble by his mean- for payment, the police took news and dishonesty, and would be him (plaintiff) to Yaunati Police fined $25.
Station.
EXCHANGE RATES.
When asked why the defendant caused him to be taken to the Police Station, plaintiff said he did not know exactly. He explained that Paris the defendant asked for delivery New York of the goods. Witness refused, Brussels however, as insuflicient money had Geneva been puid. Defendant said he would Amsterdam do his best to pay and asked Milan to a tea house to Berlin plaintiff to ge
much larger than the present case, Similarly the Ogure "/" was for in three cheques "ten pounds" inserted between the symbol "was altered to "one hundred and and the figures "2520," advantage ten pounds," in another cheque being taken of a very small space "wo pounds" to "thirty-two left there, no doubt purposely pounds," and in the fifth cheque The forger was apparently arts pounda" was altered to one Kwet Peng, who has since dis-
hundred and fifty pounds." appeared.
The interpolation in the figures The Tamiliar question proše, hip Lordship said, as to which of two of these cheques was the same as innocent parties was to suffer in the present crise, but the space through the forgery of a third left in each case could hardly be have ten. He did not know a trap Stockholm party. From the case cited it was less than it was in the present had been set but while they were Copenhage quite clear that the relation be case. In Marshall's enae, however, having ten defendant blew a whistle Dsto tween a banker and creditor was the court held that the mere leav-which brought the police on the Vienna that of debtor and creditor. The ing of any space in a cheque was scene and they took him to the Prague longur no violation of a eustomer's duty Police Station. banker contracted to cheques without delay to the ex- to a bankei, " Lent of the customer's credit. The customer contracted to see that he drew cheques on the banker "without negligence" or "With proper caution." He must not mislead the banker. He must use "ordinary care."
The case was of doubtful au-
thority and his Lordship did not rely upon it. In Macmillan's case there were no words at all in the line left for that purpose and the customer was held to have violated hia duty to the bank,
No Negligence,
was
Helsingfors Madrid Mr. Loseby then proceeded to Liabon
Bucharest question plaintiff with regard to his Athens accounts, remarking he was trying
show that they were absolutely Rio...
Buenos Aires Bombay Defendant said that he took Shangha! delivery of
the propellors on Hongkong November 5, 1928, and not no Yokohama December 3, is stated by the plain-Silver (apot)
unreliable.
are now united with Wu. Pei-fu
are planning n, big drive to expel and several Szechwan generals
the Knominchun from Kansu' and Shensi..
Dark Outlook.
London, Mar. 3.
"We know positively that a .124.225 Szechwan army has entered South 4.85 7/82 Kansu and token Pikow ten days .34,94 ago. The Moslems and their con- .23.23 federates now control all South .12.11% Kansu except Tsinchow and 'Kong-
92.66 chang. .20.46
.18,16
"The outlook is extremely dark.
.18.20 These big armies fighting back 18.10 and forth over the whole of the .34.525 province are consuming the last .163% partioles of food left. The rear- -108 guard of the armies often go three 31.805 days without food because all has .100% been consumed by the soldiers
.$75
in front. And when Moslem re- ..816 bela have to go so long hungry .6 20/12
what must be the condition of the .47 11/02 1/6 31/32 people? Oh it is heartronding!
.2/836 "The Moslem rebellion is not ..1/11 only unsuppressed, it is spread-. .1/10 5/32ing! The Kuominchun
British Wireless,
Beema
.20 powerless to quell these fierce
till. Defendant paid $115 on ac-Silver (forward):20 1/16 raiders who think nothing of a count of the iron piping on Decem- bor 20 while he paid $320 for the propellors on November 5. The
Vague Expressions, These expressions were some- "Upon considering these cases whnt vague, but the idea Wad with ours," his Lordship proceeded,
cannot say that there most pointedly put by Mr. Justice Kennedy, who said that the form negligence in the present ease, I in which the cheque was drawn hold therefore that in the prepara- must not a facilitate fraud that tion and issuing of the cheque or when the fraud was perpetrated otherwise there Was no such it was seen to have in fact flowed negligence as constituted a breach
Defendant agreed he was arrest- natural and
uninterrupted of duty by the customer, the plained in connexion with the action, but as from the negligent tima. If this view is correct no when Mr. Loseby suggested that he sequence
in
nel.
total amount paid was $444,37 HEIR FOR JAPANESE
THRONE? which left a balance of $13,96 which was guaranteed,
The difficulty in this case arose question arises in regard to any had been detained uni! the case]
negligence on the part of the bank. There was authority to pay the smaller sum, and the bank are liable to refund anything greater than the amount autherised.
"I might add that if such ques-
tion did arise I should hold that the bank were not negligent in paying
from the "interpolation of letters and a sgure in spaces left by the drawer of a completed cheque. His Lordship gathered from the authorities that if the drawer of a bearer cheque left such blank spacer that an ordinarily prudent person would say of them that the cheque after an interval of they facilitated fraud, In the sense nineteen days, for there is evidence stated by Mr. Justice Kennedy, the that the custom of Singapore bank- customer would then be guilty of ers is not to refuse to pay a cheque until it is six months out of date, a breach of duty to his bank,
In the present ease an exhibit and even without that custom 1 had been put in which showed them at satisfied that nineteen cheque as originally drawn for days is, in the circumstances in signature. His Lordship could which bearer cheques are used in only say that while there was a slight space between the words "two" and "thousand" it was not, ed. in his opinion, ao distinct in its actual appearance and extent that it would, to a man of ordinary enre and prudence, suggest a likeli- hood of forgery, or that it was of such a nature that it would facili- tate anything but a very skilful forgery indeed.
rubber transaction in Singapore, an unreasonable length of time for a birer cheque to remain uneash-
"
Bonk's Position.
Kame
came
AN INTERESTING EVENT EXPECTED.
dash of 100 miles In 36 hours. The streams are frozen so they cross anywhere nt pleasure. And the Kuominchun cannot endure severe winter, mercury at
the
zero."
Conditions Grow Worse, Writing under date of Febru- ваув con- ury 4, Mr. Simpson Tokyo, Feb. 26.
ditions, are far worse, and he' on, Mr.. D'Almada sald
Newspapers here said
to-day adda: that defendant was arrested as an that Empress Nagako is to become
"Our mail has been very budly absconding deblor,
a mother BOON. His Lordship pointed out that he
Empress Nagako has given interrupted and delayed by the put up security and was ordered to
birth to two children already, Moslem rebellion which still con- far on the day of trial. He was princess Shigeko was born on Dec. tinues. I fear much mail has not forced to stay in the Colony.
Answering Mr. Lonely, defen-16, 1926, Princess Sachiko was born been lost. Please thank all donors dant said he had been to Swatow on September 10, 1927, but lived who have sent you offerings fur only six months.-Associated Press, our famine relief. Conditions are now much worse. Thousands of several times.
men who can get nothing to cat have turned bandits and are rob- and liling everybody bing
The weaker than themselves. - continued warfare either con- sumes or destroys what little food remains. Kansus doom hastens There is no escape."
"Further, I would hold that the bank were not negligant in paying the cheque by reason of the large amount, for it is in evidence that several cheques of substantially the mume amount had been drawn by the plaintiff firm and paid by the No Natural Flow,
defendant bank about the His Lordship did not see that the time as the cheque in this case, and forgery owed naturally from the it is in evidence that the amount leaving of the space. The same of the bank transactions with the was true of the space before the plaintiff firm came in six months figures "2620" and after the sym-is a very large sum, nearly $2,000,- bol "?" on the cheque, There cer- 000. Nor would I hold the bank! tainly was a very small space left, negligent in paying the cheque in and it was true that there was less spite of the fact that the endorse- space in most if not all of the 281 ment did not exactly tally with the other cheques, (produced) drawn payce's name on the cheque, for it by the plaintif firm. But the le in evidence that banks in Singa- space itself was so slight that his pore do not ordinarily look at such Lordship could not say that the endorsements, but take them only forgery flowed naturally from the precaution so that they shal!
fact that it was there.
be able, if anything goes wrong, to say that that was the signature
was made.
In Young v. Grote, wliere a cus- of the person to whom payment
tomer was held to have failed in
his duty to the banker, the chèque "For these reason I give judg- was blank and was filled in by ment for the plaintiffs for $10,000 his agent, his wife, who started and costa, the amount either to be in the middle of the line with the paid to plaintiffs in cash or to be word "fifty" with a small "f? credited to them in their account:
with the defendants, at plaintiffs" option."
Stronger Case.
His Lordship certified for two This was an infinitely stronger case than the present one. In counsel on each side.
1920, WY NEA BENVIDE, ING, I
REA, LLEBAT.OF.
"You can bring some of your fraternity friends home Christmas and your father and I will have a nice tree for
MARINE COURT.
MISTAKE REGARDING
"LICENCE.
Before Commdr. G. F. Hole, R.N, at the Marine Court this morning, a caso against a foki of a fishing boat, who was charged with committing a breach of his fishing boat licence by carrying was withdrawo. Inspr. Andrews explained that there had been a misunderstanding. Accord ing to defendant's licence. there was no offence committeed.
His Worship accordingly dismis sed, the case,
cargo,
r
Two mistresses of passenger boats were charged with carrying sovon passengers in excess of the number allowed by their licences. One pleaded that she had no op- tion in the matter as six of her Tassengers clamborod on board after aho warned them that she already had the required number. Asked by his Worship why she did not send them away, she said. that they threatened to assault hur.
Defendants were both fined $15 each, with the alternative of two weeks' hard labour.
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