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PART V PERSONS INVOLVED
lived with his aunt but, at the time of the riots, he was living in a rented cubick with a friend at Ma Tau Kok Road, Kowloon. His father, who seemingly remained all the time in China, died there in 1961. In Hong Kong he went to middle school for a year and a half; then to two other schools and finally to a technical school finishing in 1964, by which time he had reached Form Four. Before us he showed, when he wished, a good command of English.
338. He said that after leaving school he worked as an apprentice at the South Sea Textile Factory staying for one month; and at Kon Tak Hon as a delivery boy, delivering kerosene, for five days; on 15th January 1965 he applied unsuccessfully to join the Police Force, but later he worked as an apprentice at the Sun Sun Weaving Factory for one month, at the Tai Tung Textile Factory for less than three months; in the Cathay Textile Factory for half a month, and then on 28th June, 1965 he moved to the Mayer Aluminium Co., resigning from that post five days after the 1966 Chinese New Year. Between that period and 4th April, 1966 he had also worked in a garment factory, a shoe factory, as a packer at another garment factory and as a broker at the Wah Seung Chinese Merchants Import/Export Company. His daily earnings ranged between $4.70 minimum and $11.70 maximum and his average earnings came to approximately $130.00 to $250.00 a month. He said that he left a job to take a new one when ever he found one better. With foremen, he said, he frequently had trouble as their system of working was unreasonable and he could do better on his own. Sometimes, he said, he had to work from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and he thought working conditions in general were poor.
339. On 5th April he crossed from Kowloon by Star Ferry with the inten tion, he said, of seeing a firm of solicitors about a flat valued at approximately $40,000.00, which his mother had left him. It was the holiday of the Ching Ming Festival. He spoke of chatting with two European reporters who sat near him on the ferry; to them he said that he was going to see his solicitors about opening a casino in Yuen Long. One of these reporters mentioned that someone was staging a 'hunger strike' in opposition to Star Ferry increases and inquired whether LO Kei was going to take part in it but he replied in the negative, although he had read something about the strike in the morning newspaper and, seeing nothing illegal in it, was prepared to give all his support to the striker as he thought the Star Ferry fare increases might bring on a 'chain reaction'.
340. On reaching Hong Kong, he noticed in the Ferry concourse a small crowd surrounding the hunger striker, and people shaking his hand. LO Kei said that, on a sudden impulse, he did likewise in order to encourage SO, whom he had not met before; he then offered to join SO. He got SO to write some characters on his own red jacket meaning 'opposition to ferry fare increases' and 'opposition to gambling'. RAGGENSACK then joined them and made his speech which was followed shortly afterward by SO's arrest, when SO and RAGGENSACK moved closer to the main turnstiles.
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