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THE HONG KONG WEEKLY PRESS &
May 15, 1936
EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS NEARING END
Counsels' Submissions
UNCORROBORATED EVIDENCE
Extradition proceedings against four men, alleged fugitives from the Nanking Government in con- nection with the attempted assas- sination of Mr. Wang Ching-wei and Marshal Chiang Kai-shek, continued on Friday before Mr. W. Schofield at the Central Court.
Mr. Peter H. Sin appeared for the alleged fugitives while Mr. D. L. Strellet, of Messrs. G. K. Hall Brutton and Co., appeared for the prosecution.
The four fugitives who appeared before Mr. Schofield on Friday were Yu Lap-fai, Chan Chi-ping, Wu Tai-hoi and Cheung Chi-hon.
It will be recalled that the plot- ters formed a news-agency know- ing that newspaper men were allowed to come into close contact with the officials for the purpose of taking pictures. This news- "Sung called the agency was Kwong News Agency" and under the guise of being a newspaper man, Suen Fung-ming, the actual assassin, with the help of a camera was thus able to get very close to the officials.
of the Nanking Police, and who further admits that after this trial he has to go back to Nanking to That face a further trial there. Wong Yan-san had not come down to Hong Kong voluntarily was not, in counsel's opinion, questioned. It was the submission of Mr. Sin that Wong Yan-san had come down to tell his story and get some sort of a reward and to clear himself out of his trouble.
AN ACCOMPLICE
and that he accordingly would ask His Worship to discharge the de- fendants.
After quoting some more cases to emphasise his points Mr. Sin held that Wong Yan-san could be regarded as one of the original conspirators in the crime.
CORROBORATIVE EVIDENCE
Mr. Strellett in reply said that the evidence of Wong Yan-san was that on which the prosecution un-- doubtedly relied and assuming accomplice, the that he was an first proposition that Mr. Sin put was that Magistrates do not con- vict on the uncorroborated evidence of an accomplice and said that there were no cases wherein he had found such proceedings. If that was the case then where did the cases which Mr. Sin quoted come from? It was this that Mr. Sin had seen many cases where the Magis- trate had committed on the evi-
He was a very clever young man, very evasive and very elusive, said Mr. Sin. He calls Wong Ah-chui the "King of all murderers" and yet at the young age of 19 he moves with that sort of man. What sort of a man was Wong Yan-san? He had admitted under cross-examina- tion that he had assisted Wong Ah-chui in the murder and that he was one of the conspirators. He had helped most actively in the plot, asserted counsel, in that (1) | dence of an accomplice but has he was seeing Wong Ah-chui all not recognised them. the time, (2) he loaned his house for the meetings of the conspira- tors and (3) he went to Shanghai to accompany the wife of Suen (the actual murderer) and for that reason was paid by Wah Hak-chee, who witness had said was one of
MR. SIN'S SUBMISSION Addressing His Worship, Mr. Sin, in submitting that he had no case
the prime-movers said that the charge to answer, against the four alleged fugitives spiracy. was that of a conspiracy to murder Mr. Wang Ching-wei.
His Worship had heard numerous witnesses and he submitted that it any evidence was to go it was that of Wong Yan-san. He also submitted that as far as the testi- monies of the other witnesses were concerned, they were fraught with no material evidence against the alleged fugitives.
Upon reviewing Wong Yan-san's evidence, he had given remarkable details in all particulars and such testimony was too good to be true. He was the only witness who had alleged that the four fugitives had conversation with a mysterious per- son named Wong Ah-chui, whom he alleged to be the prime-mover in
the plot to murder Marshal Chiang Kai-shek.
of the con-
Mr. Sin's submission was that Wong Yan-san was in fact and in law an accomplice and if the whole of his evidence was to be believed then it was only the evidence of an accomplice against the four alleged fugitives. The Court, said Mr. Sin, exercises great care where an accomplice gives evidence.
Counsel did not mean to say that the evidence of an accomplice was not be admissable m law, but he submitted that the practice has almost become law that an accom- plice's evidence requires corrobora- tion.
Mr. Sin then quoted cases and submitted that he had never found a case yet where a Magistrate has committed on the uncorroborated evidence of an accomplice.
On the whole, if His Worship What sort of a witness was Wong agreed with Mr. Sin, that Wong Yan-san was an accomplice and Yan-san, counsel asked. A witness
that his evidence was uncorrobo- who had been sent down from Nan- king, who had been arrested in rated then he submitted that the connection with the outrage and prosecution had not made out a who is still under the observation ❘ prima facie case against his clients
One thing was the evidence of an accomplice was evidence in law and is evidence upon which a jury can convict. Another thing was that the old saying of judges in that if there were no corrobora- tive evidence of an accomplice then the jury were told not to convict had been altered in that now the judge can only warn the jury on the danger of convicting on such evidence.
When one starts on corroboration then one must corroborate the of- fence as well as connect the cri- minals with the offence. As far as the Magistrate was concerned, he need not worry about corrobora- tion. All that the Magistrate had to judge was that whether there was some evidence upon which a jury might convict. Unless, there- fore, His Worship was prepared to say that there was no evidence upon which a jury might convict then, Mr. Strellett suggested that what Mr. Sin had said about cor- roboration did not apply to the pre- sent case.
Unless, concluded Mr. Strellet Mr. Schofield was satisfied that the witness was an absolute liar, then his evidence does not need corro- boration and that a prima facie case had been established.
The case was then until Wednesday, 13th.
adjourned
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