12
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13
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10. On 14th August a man and a woman were carrying some baskets of fruit along the frontier road, within British Territory, opposite the Lo Fong Customs Station, and were fired at by a labour picket of three men. The man and the woman dropped their baskets and ran away. The Labour picket then crossed the frontier und seized the baskets. The woman is a resident of British Territory, but the man has not yet been found.
H. On 13th August two junks. registered in Hongkong, bearing a mixed cargo valued at $1,600 and consigned to a shop in British Sha Tau Kok arrived at Sha Tau Kok for the purpose of unloading. They were ordered by the officer-in-charge of the police station at British Sha Tau Kok to come up to the beach at a point about 500 or 600 yards on the British side of the frontier. On the following day, August 14th, a party of armed man in uniform assisted by labour pickets invaded British Territory and took pos- session of the junks. They ordered the coolies to take the goods, which had already been unloaded, into Chinese Territory for examination. This was done. On August 15th the soldiers ordered the crews of the junks to move them away into Chinese Terri-> tory. An attempt was made by the police ollicer-in-charge of British Sha Tau Kok Sta- tion, in the police rowing boat to prevent this move, but the boat was driven off by ride fire. By arrangement with the Naval Authorities H.M.S. Forglore was ordered to assist in the recovery of the junks which were to be regarded as having been pirated. On Angust 17th this vessel arrived off British Sha Tau Kok, and under her cover a party proceeded to recover the junks. This was done without opposition and most of the cargo was found to be on hoard.
12. On 15th August at about 2.45 p.m. two rifle shots were fired at a range of about 500 yards from a tower in Lo Fong, Chinese Territory at Ta Ku Ling Police Sta- One bullet struck the wall of the barrack room of the Indian police. A number of persons standing by the tower applauded.
tion.
13. On 18th August a body of armed men, having appearance of soldiers, raided the village of A Ma Wat and stole property to the value of $100.
14. On 20th August a gang of coolies under the charge of a foreman of the Public Works Department were at work repairing a bridge on the British frontier road opposite Lo Fong Customs Station (Chinese Territory), Shots were fired at them and they scat-
Pickets crossed the frontier and took away a bicycle belonging to the foreman.
tered.
15. On 21st August several Chinese dressed in khaki and armed with rifles were Been to fire at the Lok Ma Chau Ferry on its passage across the Sham Chun River (British waters) from Chinese to British Territory. A party of Police who approached the ferry with the intention of protecting the passengers were also fired on. One passenger, who jumped overboard and tried to swin to British Territory, disappeared and was not seen
again.
16. On 27th August at about 2.30 p.m. a picket of Indian soldiers, which had as a result of a series of incidents in this neighbourhood, been stationed on the frontier op posite Lo Fong, was fired on by a picket of Chinese soldiers. Fire was returned and one Chinese soldier was hit.
Later, at about 10.30 p.m., there was a demonstration against Ta Ku Ling Station, and a number of shots were fired at it from two sides. A relieving party was sent up from Sheung Shui. After the demonstration the attacking party retired without making an assault.
Two days later on 29th August communication by field telephone between the Indian picket and Sheung Shui was interrupted and 20 yards of wire were subsequently found to have been removed.
17. On 11th September two Chinese drivers and two Chinese stokers employed on the Fanling branch railway were arrested by labour pickets at British Sha Tau Kok. As these men were returning to Shum Chun under escort an attempt was made by a police patrol to effect their release. The road from Chinese Sha Tau Kok to Sham Chun passes Through British Territory at Lin Hang Gap, and at this point the police endeavoured to intercept the party. The attempt failed, but the captured men were released the next day.
18. On 23rd September a raid by armed pickets was made on the Yuen Tai Tsan shop, British Sha Tau Kok. It was to this shop that the cargoes of the two junks seized on August 15th were consigned. On this occasion 25 pigs, besides money and goods from the shop were stolen. The officer in charge of the pickets tried to restrain his men, but was intimidated by them into submission. Eventually be took refuge in British Territory.
On 27th September a further raid by armed pickets was made on this shop, and 12 pigs and more property were stolen. The total value of the pigs and property stolen was estimated at over $7,300.
On 4th October the Assistant Superintendent of Police. New Territories, reported that British Sha Tan Kok was in the hands of the strikers and that it was impossible for the police to venture there. The trains stopped at the police station, about a mile from the village. This state of affairs continued for a month until, on 7th November when His Ex- cellency the Governor personally visited the scene, on his instructions British Sha Tan Kok was reoccupied by two companies of the 2nd Punjabis. The strikers, about 200 in num- ber, fled without resistance and a detachment of 30 men was quartered near the railway sta- tion. Although the station was badly damaged the normal train service was immediately resumed. The Yuen Tai Tsan shop which was raided on 23rd September and 27th Septem- ber was found to be completely ransacked.
19. On 6th November, about mid-day, police Motor Boat No. XI while patrolling the Sham Chun River, (British Waters), opposite the Sheung Po Temple, was fired upon by men concealed in bushes on the Chinese side of the river. About thirty shots were fired of which eight struck the boat.
20. At about 9 p.m. on 31st October a number of mon boarded an oyster-boat belonging to a certain oyster-farmer Chan Siu Ying who lives at Shek Po village in the Ping Shan District, (British Territory). The bout Was anchored in Deep Bay, From it they kidnapped four of his fokis, and stole a shot gun and a musket valued at $32.00. The aggressors proved to be pickets who took the kidnapped men to the Strikers' headquarters at Nam Tan, where they were detained until they ransomed themselves for $50.00, but were not permitted to return to British Territory.
21. On the morning of 14th November, fishing-boats sailing from Un Long to Ling Ting Island were chased by a strikers' boat in Deep Bay. (British Waters), off Mong Tsing, and were fired at several times. After the shooting the strikers' boat sailed away towards Nam Tau.
21 (a). At 10.30 a.m. on 16th November three shots were fired from Chinese Territory at No. XI Motor Boat while proceeding down the Sham Chun River. The bullets passed just over the boat.
22. On 23rd November, a Chinese farmer in the Lok Ma Chau district sold 12 bags of padi to the Tsai Cheung Tong Shop, in Un Long, New Market. At mid-day when coolies were conveying the rice to a motor-lorry waiting on the new road at Lok Ma Chau, while proceeding by the main path, three strike-pickets armed with rifles suddenly appeared from some bushes and compelled the coolies to carry the rice into Chinese Terri- tory. This outrage took place nearly a mile on the British side of the Sham Chun River.
23. During the forenoon of 23rd November, while two British Police Officers were patrolling the British bank of the Sham Chun River, four or five shots were fired at them from the Chinese side of the river when they were gear the temple at the end of the Lok Ma Chau new road. The shots passed very near them. The police then saw a strike picket armed with rifles standing near some mangrove bushes. They returned the fire when the picket, seven men in all, ran away towards Lung Tsun IIS.
24. On 1st December three Chinese women were rubbed on the Ta Ku Ling Road in British Territory, and the sum of $3.00 in small money was taken.
25. On 1st December near the Sham Chun River, at San Uk Láng in British Terri- tory, Sub-Inspector Barnett of the Hong Kong Police was fired at by three men. The men are supposed to have been those concerned in the robbery of the three women, mentioned in paragraph 24.
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