CO129-570-8 Sino-Japanese War- sinking of Chinese fishing boats by Japanese vessel 31-1-1938 - 22-12-1938 — Page 49

Copy.

(F 9453/4/10)

MEMORANDUM,

49

On the 7th October, 1937, His Excellency, the

Officer Administering the Government of Hongkong, appointed

a Commission to enquire into and to establish the facts in

relation to the alleged sinking of certain fishing junks,

some survivors of which were brought into Hongkong on

board the S.9. "Schar: horst" and the S.S. "Kaying". A

copy of the report of this Commission is attached thereto.

There were twelve junks working in pairs in the

fleet which was attacked on 22nd September. Of these nine

were sunk, one was disabled and after drifting for three

days was towed into port, and two escaped.

Paragraphs 33 and 34 of this report as follows:

Paragraph 33. "The conclusions to which we have come are

that the ten Chinese picked up by the

S.S. "Scharnhorst" on 27th September and the two men picked

up by the 8.3. "Kaying" later the same day were all survivors

from junk No. 3407 HW, that that junk and nine others while

peacefully engaged in fishing were wantonly attacked and

sunk by an armed ship of war, that considerable loss of

innocent lives including those of women and children was

occasioned, and that the attacking vessel was a submarine

belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy.'

Paragraph 34.

"The result of this unprovoked attack on a

fishing fleet is according to the evidence

given to us, the complete loss of nine junks of a value of

about H.K. 9,000 to H.K. 10,000 each and the disabling

of a tenth.

Of the persons on board 106 are dead, six were

wounded and there were 187 survivors.

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