CO129-291 - Governor Sir Blake - 1899 [5-6] — Page 184

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received money so I promised to pay $50 a month for a full month, $25 for a broken month in which there was not much opium run, and nothing for a month in which no opium was run. O Mi Cheung also asked for money for Wong Hing Cheung ($10 a month), Lo Cheung ($15), Chung Muk Sing ($5), Chung Tung ($15), Yu Po ($15), & Chu Kwai Lam ($10) a month. I paid these monies to O Mi Cheung for the several police mentioned to me by him.

I made about 8 payments prior to the Witchell trial.

I have not mentioned the payment of these bribes to Stanton, Quincey, Corcoran & Holt. I was afraid to mention the subject to them. I know that they received the money. If they had not, they would not have greeted me in so friendly a manner in the street. Everyone knew that these four police officers took bribes. The people who give bribes know well which of the Police are willing to receive bribes.

Yeung Fat would not have dared to receive this money in the names of European Police and not pay it to them. I should have found him out if he had. I should have been told that he had not received it. Besides, Stanton never got a case of illegal moving of opium, nor did the others who received bribes either. These bribes were paid in order to prevent the police from seizing opium being moved for purposes of smuggling. I have not paid any other police. No one came and asked me for money for Hanson or Mackie, or any other of the police. The money that I paid in bribes was not paid by the Opium Farmer. It was paid by the purchasers of the opium for smuggling. The custom was to pay $7 per chest for bribes to the Police.