[
    {
        "id": 213636,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1995",
        "page_number": 232,
        "title": "RAS-1995",
        "content_text": "207\n\nJack Edwards, since well-known for his work on behalf of ex-P.O.W.s, and their families. The trial began on October 3rd 1946 and ended with convictions two weeks later. I need say no more as Jack Edwards had written a graphic account of the conditions at Kinkaseki in his book \"Banzai you Bastards\".\n\nMy second case turned into a marathon. It opened to a crowded courtroom on October 21st 1946 and ended in an equally-crowded court on November 30th - Hong Kong's longest-running War Crimes Trial. The Royal Navy took a special interest in the case due to the number of Naval Personnel who had perished, and the Hong Kong Commodore sent out a signal that all Naval Officers not on sea duty were to attend the opening of the trial in No.1 uniform with medals and swords. About fifty did so, arriving early to take up the front spectator seats in the Jardine East Point Godown (since demolished) which had been furnished as a court. A Naval Officer sat as a member of the Tribunal.\n\nThe accused was of medium height, and aged 45. He held himself well in the dock. He spoke passable English, but preferred to give evidence in his own language. The accused, Captain Kyoda Shigeru, had been Master of the \"Lisbon Maru\" which sailed from Hong Kong for Tokyo on September 27th 1942. It had on board, in overcrowded conditions, 1816 undernourished British and Allied P.O.W.s who were being moved to Japan to work in factories there. It also carried a substantial number of Japanese troops returning for relocation and a general cargo. Three days after sailing from Hong Kong the \"Lisbon Maru\" was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine which punched a hole in the stern and thereafter the vessel was slowly sinking. The Officer-in-charge of the P.O.W. detachment, a young Lieutenant Wada, ordered the accused to batten down the prisoners in the hatches, and to remove the ventilation chutes.\n\nAccording to evidence, the accused first argued with Lt. Wada, but when the order was repeated he gave instructions to the Ship's Carpenter to carry it out. As the ship slowly sank, conditions in the holds became more and more intolerable, and deaths due to drowning and asphyxia began to occur. No food or water was supplied. The air was foul, and they were in darkness. There were no latrine facilities.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 213637,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1995",
        "page_number": 233,
        "title": "RAS-1995",
        "content_text": "208\n\nAn attempt by the prisoners to break out of No.3 Hold was repulsed by rifle fire from a guard party on the Bridge. Later, all the Japanese troops and crew members were taken off by several Japanese naval vessels, including a destroyer. No attempt was made to take off the P.O.W.s who were left to their fate. The vessel was under tow until the crew abandoned ship. Eventually, the vessel's stern touched bottom off the Chinese coast. The vessel took a violent lurch, and a renewed attempt enabled many P.O.W.s to break free and scramble over the side to swim ashore. Even then, they came under fire from nearby vessels. Most of those who made it to the shore were later rounded up by the Japanese, although one did manage to make his way to freedom via Chung King.\n\nLt. Wada had not survived the war, so the accused stood to face the music alone. A number of P.O.W.s gave evidence, but perhaps the most significant testimony came from the Second Mate Araki Kaname who elected to give evidence for the prosecution. He branded the order from Lt. Wada to batten down the prisoners in the holds as plainly illegal. The consequences were obvious if the order was carried out, and it was contrary to an Imperial Rescript which directed that prisoners should be treated no worse than their own troops, except so far as was necessary to keep guard over them. The witness was asked what would have happened if the Master had refused to comply with the order. “Lt. Wada would have been court-martialled if he had used force to oblige the Master to obey. The Master was responsible for the lives and safety of all on board\".\n\n846 prisoners died in the events that followed the battening down - either through suffocation, drowning or shooting.\n\nThe accused was defended by a very competent Japanese lawyer, probably chosen by his professional association, and he was permitted to call a number of witnesses from Japan, including a Lieutenant-General from the Army Marine Transport Bureau, who stated that a civilian master of a troop-carrying vessel was bound to obey orders given to him by the senior military officer on board. Japan had not ratified the Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners of war, although he was aware of an Imperial Rescript to the effect that the convention should be observed so far as practicable. The main defence was that the accused had to obey orders even though the officer",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g",
        "rank": 0
    }
]