5.
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inflicted. Une defendant was discharged as the muitsai,
when she appeared in court, stated that her mother had
received her wages on her behalf. In two of the successful
cases the defendants were too poor to pay the full amounts
of wages due; the magistrate thereupon reduced these amounts
to sums which they were able to pay, and the girls concerned
were restored to their relatives.
(j) There were again no cases of cruelty to or ill-
treatment of registered muitsai.
(k) The usual arrangements were made for the welfare
of the girls concerned in the successful prosecutions for
keeping unregistered muitsai and for bringing unregistered
muitsai into the Colony. Two girls, who were manifestly
attached to their respective employers, were allowed to
remain with them as paid domestic servants. Two of the
girls concerned in the unsuccessful cases were taken into
the care of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. One of these girls was only six years of age, and a conviction would possibly have been obtained against her employer but for
the fact that in court the child was too frightened even to
answer to her name; the other girl was found on premises which were suspected, although no definite proof was obtainable,
of being used for immoral purposes.
(1)
In cases concerning registered muitsai, the girls were given their choice as to whether they wished to leave their employers or not. They almost invariably elected
to remain. This option was not conceded in the cases where
full payment of arrears of wages was not forthcoming. These
cases have already been referred to in paragraph 6 (i).
7. (a) In addition to those mentioned in the last
paragraph, there were a further twelve prosecutions with
which I have preferred to deal separately.
These may
conveniently
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