CO129-419 - Individuals - 1914 — Page 489

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Did she turn back ?-Who, the On Lee? No.

The doors of the grille were unlocked to let you and the mate get your life belta?-Yea. The mate said "I have no life belt."

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I said "Yes, you have in your room. I told him it was in the warelrobe and

we both went to get it but were driven out by the smoke,

You got yours?—Yes. Could Evans swim?-Yes Did he jump clear?—Yes. After the adjournment Capt. Wetherell, recalled. gave the number of the crew as 38, 10 cargo coolies and and unknown number of cargo brokers.

The

The Tai On's compradore U. Sui-sang, said the first intimation of trouble that he had was the second class passengers. piratea entered the compra- dore's office and ransacked it. le could not tell the number of men but he would estimate five or six were on the job. He would not recognise them again be cause he could not very well see their faces. They were Chinese dressed in dark clothing and looked much the same as the other passengers. They were ordinary middle class people except that they looked very fierce and wild.

You told Mr. Sayer that these people threatened to Lurn the ship, why did they want to barn the ship? The passengers asked the pirates not to burn the ship.

Did they say why they were going to burn the ship?-I don't know.

You know what they said?- They told the passengers to ask the captain to be allowed to do as they liked with the ship and then they would not burn it.

Do you know why they were going to burn the ship; they would not be able to get away themselves; that would be a silly thing to do?—I don't know.

What do you think?-My idea was that they would not be able to escape. If they did not ect fire to the ship and jumped into the water the captain would shoot them.

-

It did not strike you that they did not want to burn the ship but that it got out of control?- I don't know what their intention was but that is what they did.

Did you see them shoot any

women ?-No.

How many passengere did they

shoot?-I don't know.

What were they armed with ?— With revolvere.

How many passengers had you on board?-363.

They were people who had paid their fares? They had paid their fares and I had tickets.

Chinese and therell.

Capt.

We five

Of these were wounded.

He had heard that twelve dead bodies had been picked up off Ki 0. These were afterwards brought to Hongkong by the Tung Wah Hospital auth orities. On May 4 the same suth- from the scene of the piracy. o.ition brought a

father 6997

Of the survivors at Macao one was supposed to be a watchman on board the steamer, Some twelve others had been detained, the remainder being allowed to go to their friends.

Antonio Diaz, the watchman on

the issued them

How many runners bad you on board ?-About 80.

And how many cargo coolies? -Sixteen.

And then there were cargo brokers ?-Yea.

Could you say how many of

them?-About six.

There were some boys as well making a total of 513 on board. Witness did not know how many He was saved by were saved. the Hoi Sang, having been found clinging to the rudder.

Capt. Wetherell :--When you gold and collected the tickets did you notice anything suspicious? -Nothing.

The President:-Nothing un- usual? They all looked like passengers,

Was there the usual amount of luggage with these passengers?— I did not take notice.

Was there or was there not the usual quantity of luggage? About the same.

Inspector Gordon said the Tai On came back to the harbour on May 1 at 10 pm. The remains of 17 bodies were found on board. He believed that there was a lot consumed. The bones of six human beings were found and a large quantity of white ash. The Shun Lee brought back 120 pag- sengers, the Shui On brought back 32 and a European, The Hoi Sang brought back

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88. Tai Оa, said he was stationed on the starboard of the bridge armed with a rifle and revolver, H had been trained as a soldier in Portugal. At the commencement of the trouble he was just abaft the foremost grille. He heard a sound of shots and of people rushing forward in the direction of the bridge, and later saw a man elimbing over the bridge rail on the starboard side.

Witness shot him. The door in the forward grille was closed after the firing commenced. Ho killed five persons in the fore part and then turned his attention to the after grille.

on

Wong Him, third engineer of the Tai On, said he was duty jo the engine room when he heard shots forward at about 10.15 p.m. Shortly afterwards the telegraph rang to him to stop the engines and he did so. Later he received a signal to go ahead again but he could not carry out these instructiona because he was prevented by later some more pirates came into armed pirates. Ten minutes

the engine room and ordered him to stop the engines. He point

that they were already

out

A fireman was then stopped. ordered to go and stop the dynamo and when he refused he was hit over the head with the but end of a revolver. Another one asked the way up to the captain and was shown the way to the boat deck. They found that the door leading to the boat deck was locked and when they

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH SUPPLEMENT

and asked for the returned

he key witness replied that bad not it. Later as they left the engine room they threw the key into the crank pit. Just after this the telegraph again rang to go ahead but witness was again prevented by a pirate who preted a revolver at his head. Then flames commenced to corae in from the main deck through a crack in the door, and witness went below and forward to the grille, shouting to the fokis there to get out. Later he jumped through a cargo port and, after being in the water for about three hours, was picked up by the 8.8. Shan Lee.

Wong Chiu, second engineer, explained that the sound of shots awoke him on the night in ques- tion. Having heard the sound he did nothing but went back to bis sofa. He did not go out to help to defend the ship because be heard a lot of pirates in the No. 2 pilot's rooin.

The President:-You had a revolver in vour room ?—Yes.

Why didn't you get up and go out and help to defend the ship?- If I had come out surely there would have been somebody to kill me. I couldn't cope with a lot of pirates.

Capt Summerville of the s.s. Shun Lee gave evidence as to rescuing sarvivors from the water. He met the Lintan going up and the master of the vessel hailed him and told him that the Tai On was ashore further up. He also met the On Lee twelve minutes later but that ship made no c^mmunication to him. Eight or ten minutes after passing the Lintan witness saw the rockets going up from the Tai On. He went in as close as he could to the Tai On, anchoring in twelve feet of water. He might have gone closer but the pilots would not take him any further in,

Capt. Weatherhead of the Shin On deposed to receiv. ing a report from his mate that the Lintan had passed and reported that the Tai On was ashore lower down. He ran the Shiu On to within two and a half

cables of the vessel and got out his boats to help save people from the ship and to assist those of the other ships standing by.

The adjourned bearing was when continued on Wenesd the only evidence addu od was that of the ship's compradore who was recalled.

The President-Can you tell me how much cargo the ship was carrying?-I don't know how much there was, but I can tell you the freight.

I want to know the weight? I don't know the weight take notice of that,

never

Witness said that they were carrying cargo of all kinds. The manifest was burnt and he would not be able to obtain one at the offices of the owners.

It was suggested that there were about 100 tons of cargo on board. The compradore amended his evidence with regard to the num- ber of passengers on board; instead of there being a total of 513 persons on the ship, there were 433.

The finding of the court was as follows:-We find that the British s.s. Tai Oo, O.N. 95,858 of Hongkong, of which Robert Henry Wetherell, the number of whose certificate of efficiency is 08851 of London, was master, left Hong- kong at 7 p.m. on April 27, 1914, on a voyage to Kongmun with a general cargo of about 100 tons, 395 passengers, of whom only 363 paid any fare, and a crew of 38.

At about 10.10, the ship being then off the island of Ki Au near the Swashway entrance to the West River, some of the pass- engers who had embarked at Hongkong rose and attempted to gain possession of the ship, being armed with Mauser and Browning pistols. They attacked the bridge, where the master, mate and chief engineer ard two armed Portuguese guarde were entrenched behind iron and barb- ed wire grilles and loopholed bullet proof shields, who were able to repel the attack, alter shooting several of their assail. ants, with the loss on their side of one-the chief engineer

slightly wounded.

The pirates then retreated balow and endeavoured to persuade some of the peaceful passengers to go up and call upon the master to surrender, and, upon their refusing to do so, shot them. They then deliberate- ly set fire to the ship in two or three places. This was about eleven o'clock.

In the meanwhile the officers in the intervals of fighting, fired distress signala, rockets, bomba and coloured lights, which were Been and answered by the British steamers Shun Lee, Shui On, and Hoi Sang, which were on the way down the river bound for Hong- koog, and by the Chinese 8.8. Wo Kwai bound for Kongmuo. Those four ships rendered all assistance in their power and succeeded in rescuing some 165 persons by means of their boats.

The flames spread rapidly and the ship was shortly ablaze from stem to stern, the passen- gers, including the pirates and crew jumping overboard. Many, however, appear to have been unable to escape and were burnt. The anchor was let go to bring the ship's head to the wind, but the officers soon found the bow untenable and had to jump also, the master being the last to leave the ship. They were picked up with the exception of Mr. r. C. Evans who was unable to secure a lifebelt, the fire having reached bie cabin when he went to get

one.

The ship was completely gutted, but was subsequently towed to Hongkong where the charred remains of seventeen bodies were found onard, besides evidence of many more, almost totally consumed by the flames.

We find that no blame at- taches to any

of the certifi- cated officers, who took all possible steps to of cure the safety of the ship and conducted the defence of the bridge most gallantly. The means adopted for the defence of the bridgo appear to have been most effective.

We

are of the opinion that the conduct of the master of the

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