Enclosure No. 3.
Extract from the Hong Kon。 telegraph of July 23, 1929.
24
KOWLOON MUITASI CASE ENDS.
Giving judgment, his Worship said that he had to find whether the defendant had over-worked or ill- trested her mui tsai, and, if so, whe- ther such ill-treatment amounted to gross cruelty. His Worship said he found that the defendant had shamefully over-worked the girl, but that the treatment did
"GROSS CRUELTY" NOT not amount to gross cruelty. Had
PROVED.
MAGISTRATE FINDS SHAMEFUL
OVER-WORKING.
$100 FINE IMPOSED.
there been more evidence of beat- ing, or any evidence of bodily cruelty, his Worship said he would have held that the treatment had amounted to gross cruelty.
For two and a half months the girl had worked at the knitting factory every night for 101⁄2 hours without a break, standing practically, the whole time.
Didn't get a Cent.
For this, the wages were 35 cents a night, but the girl never touched a cent of it. On going home if such a place could be call-
That she had shamefully over- worked the girl, although the treatment did not amount to gross cruelty, was the finding of Mr. T. S. Whyte Smith who gave judged "home," in the early morning, ment at the Kowloon Magistracythe girl must have been thoroughly this morning in the mui tsai case in which a widow, of To Kwa Wan, was charged with ill-treating and over-working a mui tsai as well as failing to provide sufficient foo and clothes.
His Worship, in iegistering a conviction, commented that if the defendant, whom he fined $100, did not pay the fine, she would, he was sure, find her imprisonment much easier than the mui tsai had found the work at the factory.
Before delivering judgment, his Worship said he wanted to ask Mr. H. R. Butters, who appeared for the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, a question which would not however affect his decision.
Night Work.
He asked if Mr. Butters could tell him if there was any reason why the factory should be open at night.
Mr. Butters replied that he un- derstood from the manager of the factory that it was a question of pressure of work. Night work did! not synchronise with the work at a factory.
His Worship said that a brewery had to keep open all night as it was a continuous process and could not close.
of
Mr. Butters said there was no- thing like that in the case of the factory. They had pressure work, but as soon as the pressure ceased, night work was
discon-i tinued.
exhausted, yet she had to carry water or do other household work before she rested.
According to the medical evidence, that life must have been injurious to the girl's health. Nor did such treatment appear to be in any way sanctioned by Chinese
custom.
realise, continued his Worship, The defendant herself must
that she was imposing on the girl conditions of life which no girl in her condition of life should accept.
His Worship said he would take into consideration the fact that the defendant had been for a fort- night in custody. She would be fined $100, with the alternative of two months' imprisonment, that was to say, if she did not pay the fine she would spend in prison practically the same period that the mui tsai had spent at the knit- ting factory.
"I am sure," added his Worship, "you will have a much easier time than she had."
Returned to Mother.
His Worship pointed out to Mr. Butters that his finding amounted to a conviction on the first charge, while the defendant was acquitted of the second count.
Mr. Butters:-I would like to say that the mui tsaï's mother is in the Colony and the girl will be return- to her.
His Worship:Yes, I am glad to hear that.
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