218
[5th witness Ho Kau.]
[6th witness Li Tai.]
20 -
490. Did you see anyone tie those poles in any way before you got on to the mainsail?
Yes, I saw someone tie up the mainsail.
491. What is it they did when they tied it up together?
Tied the poles together.
What did they tie together?
492. Chairman: Can you give me any idea how far you were from the nearest point on
the Chinese coast when you first saw the submarine? Very far
away,
493. The night before had you seen the Chelong light? No, I did not see that,
494. When you got on the German steamer did you find anyone there who could under-
stand what you were saying to them? Not one.
495. (Witness left the witness box).
496. Sixth Witness. Li Tai, duly declared, states:--
497. Mr. Whyatt: Li Tai, I think you are fifty three years of age? Yes, sir.
498. And your occupation is that of a foki aboard fishing junks? Yes, sir. 499. In September of this year were you employed as a foki on board a fishing junk No.
3407? Yes, sir.
500. Tell me what is your native place? Macao.
501. Do you remember going on a fishing expedition on board this junk No..3407 in
September this year? I remember that.
502, Where did you leave from? We left for Chelong, off the lighthouse.
503. Now before that where did you set sail from in. September this year when you
were going on a fishing expedition ? From Shaukiwan.
504. Tell me approximately when you left Shaukiwan? Some time in the first decade
of the 8th moon.*
505. Where did you sail from Shaukiwan? We went to San Mei.
506. And from San Mei did you sail somewhere else? We went to Chelong.
507. Is there a lighthouse in Chelong? Yes, there is a lighthouse.
508. Could you see that lighthouse from your junk during the day? Not from where
we were fishing; if we went close we could see it.
509. At night could you see the light from the lighthouse? Very faintly. 510. Was it the light that you saw
reflection in the sky.
or a
reflection of the light in the sky? The
511. Can you remember the date when you arrived off Chelong lighthouse for fishing?
It was the 22nd September, 1937, when I was fishing at Chelong. 512. Did you arrive on that day or did you arrive before the 22nd? Before that, before
the 22nd September.
513. How long before the 22nd? On the previous day, on the 21st September. 514. On the 22nd you were fishing what time in the morning did you start fishing?
Between six and seven in the morning.
515. And while you were fishing did you notice anything unusual happening? Nothing more than some vessel opening fire on some of the junks, so I frightened and went down below.
got
516. Did you see this vessel that opened fire before you went below?
this vessel before it opened fire.
I did not see
* 5th to 14th September 1st decade of 8th Chinese lunar month.
21
[6th witness Li Tai.]
517. After it opened fire did you yourself see this vessel ? Yes.
518. Can you tell me very approximately how far away it was when you first saw it?
At first when I saw her she was between ten and twenty cheung away.
519. Was that when you first saw it? Oh no, when I first saw her she was farther
away.
520. I want you to give me some idea how far she was away when you first saw her. Well in that case she was as far as from here to Tsimshatsui,* but when she opened fire she was between ten and twenty cheung away.
521, When she opened fire on your junk? Yes, exactly.
522. Tell me, can you describe this vessel that opened fire? I did not see the hull of
this vessel, I could only see a kind of a structure.
523. Did you see any men aboard her? Yes.
524. How many? The number I cannot say, I did not count them.
525. What sort of men were they? I do not know, they were not very big men, they
were small men.
526. Did you notice anything about their appearance?
because they were so far away.
I could not see very clearly
527. When she opened fire you went down below? Yes, I went inside the hold. 528. How many shots did she fire at your junk? Three shots. 529. Did anything happen to you as a result of those shots being fired? One of
my feet was wounded.
530. Chairman: Which one? The right foot was injured.
531. Mr. Whyatt: And how was your right foot injured? I was not directly hit
by the shell; the sheli exploded and splinters hit my right foot.
532. After the three shots had been fired what happened to you? I as well as the
others were frightened and we went to the sails to hold on to the sails.
533. And what happened to the junk? She sank.
534. How long did you remain holding on to the sails which you described? Five
days and five nights.
535. Chairman: Which sail were you on? The mainsail.
536. Mr. Whyatt: How many were there on the mainsail? Ten.
537. And what happened to you at the end of those five days and five nights? A
German vessel picked us up.
538. Do you know the name of this German vessel? I do not know the name of that
vessel.
"
539. What time of the day was it when she picked you up? About 3 a.m.
A
540. Can you remember the date? The morning of the 27th September. 541. When you got aboard this German vessel did they give you any attention? man there treated me medically and I was given food to eat-two meals a day. 542. Just tell us what he did for you medically? I was not treated in that form, but
Ah Kau was treated medically. 543. Did they do anything to your foot? It was not attended to.
544. Where did this German vessel take you to? She anchored somewhere off Kow-
loon.
• A distance of about 1 mile.
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