THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[July 22, 1899.
The jury found prisoner not guilty on the ion the ringleader, I sentence you to five years' received a pass book from the bank in which first count and guilty on the second.
His Lordship, who expressed his approval of the decision of the jury, sentenced prisoner to two years' imprisonment with hard labour.
19th July.
TER ARMED ROBBERY IN 1 THE UN LOONG
DISTRICT
Ng Shan, U Choi, Wong Sam, Long Yau, Wong Po, Wong Sang, Tan Sing, and Chan Sem were charged with committing a robbery with arms at Cheung Po, in the sub-district of Pat-heung, in the district of Un Loong, and stealing $1,500 and a quantity of articles, the property of Cheung Cheung, on the 6th inst. They pleaded not guilty.
The following composed the jury-Messrs. AO. Gutierres, J. H. W. Armstrong, J. A. da C. V. Ribeiro, Herbert Glyde, Lionel H. M. Browne Willy von Uffel, and Albert Abraham. The Acting Attorney-General (the Hon. H. E. Pollock) said prisoners were charged with being concerned with stealing a good deal of property mentioned in the indictment from a house at Cheung Po. A man called Cheung Cheung, who lived in this village, would tell the jury that on the night of July 6th, some- where about midnight, he was sitting up flaning himself when ho heard a noise on the roof, and on looking he saw nine or ten men standing up on the roof. One of the men called out to him that he would shoot him dend Cheung Cheung at once took alarm. He ran through a room in which his son had a cubicle into another room, where he remained for half an hour, whilst a considerable quantity of property and $1,500, mostly in Hongkong *Bank notes, were being stolen from the room from which he had run. In the course of the half hour prosecutor heard two shots fired. Why they were fired was not clear, as there was no evidence that anybody' was hit. When pro- secutor's son heard the noise he rushed into the room where his father had been sitting and found there ten men, who were strangers to him. They at once seized him, and he was pressed on to the floor with his face downwards, amen sitting on his back and pressing some sharp instrument close to his back. He was kept in this position, his quene being fastened to a table, while the robbers were ransacking the place. No one could identify prisoners as being present on the night in question. The way in which they were identified with this robbery was as follows: The police were in- formed of the robbery shortly after it occurred, and Chinese Police Sergeant 221, U .Po, made enquiries into the matter, and as the result of these enquiries he went at about five o'clock on the morning of the 8th July, about 29 hours after the robbery, along with Inspector Robertson and some Chinese lakongs, on board a junk which was anchored at Tsoi Hok-Tani, somewhere near Samsuipo, and here were found a considerable quantity of the stolen property and seven of the prisoners. the eighth prisoner being subsequently arrested in the street on the police getting information of his baring sold some bangles stolen from Cheung Cheung's house to another man.
The evidence given at the Magistracy was repeated.
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imprisonment with hard labour and to be whip the amount of their deposits was marked down. ped with 20 strokes of a birch within the first week When a man opened an account his name and of your imprisonment. As regards the others the number of the ledger folio were written the sentence upon each is imprisonment with on a white label on the back of the book, hard labour for four years, and that each and one of the columns in the inside of of you be whipped with 20 strokes of the book was for the European clerk to put his * birch within the first week of your initials as recognising that the money had been imprisonment. This sentence is passed upon paid in. The book was handed to the depositor the second count of the information. As to be kept by him, as evidence of his deposit. regards the first count 1 sentence you, each, When a depositor wanted to draw money out of nominally to four years' imprisonment with hard the bank he took this book to the bank, drew what money he wanted, and the amount was en- labour, but as the imprisonment will run currently with that on the second count it will tered on the other side of the account, and in a column on the loft band side headed "received" not in reality increase your sentence.
he put his initials or wrote his name. These THE ARMED ROBBERY AT WONG KOK 18UI,
Lam Yeung. Un Hap, Yung U, and Lim books, which were printed specially for the bank, Leung were charged with committing an armed were kept in a vault or strong place in the robbery at Wong Kok Tsui, near Shankiwan, back, and the European assistant in charge on the 9th June. They pleaded not guilty. of the savings bank department brought up The following composed the jury-Messrs. 20 or 30 at a time and these were placed. G. A. Caldwell, B. L. de Carvalho, Osca Bap-in a cupboard accessible to any of the Chinese tista, M. da Silva Guimaraes, J. S. Perry, W. shroffs or others employed in the depart
ment. On the 6th June, the police for some F. Hatherly, and F. H. Hohnke.
purpose were making a search in the house in which defendant and his family resided, and in a cubicle Sergeant Collett found a savings bank hook, which bore on the outside the name of Yeung Kau-sai but no ledger number, and on the debtor side of the book appeared the following 1899, May 1st, by cash $:50; May 21, by cash $250; May 3rd by cash $25; May 4th, by eash $250," and in the paid." where the European column headed clerk in charge nsually put his initials. was written "Y Hwang," It was in respect of the finding of that book in defendant's possession and in respect of the entries contained there- in, that, the present charge was brought. an offence Uuder a local Ordinance it was for any clerk, or
officer: to make any false entry in any book belonging to their employer with intent to defraud. The charge against defendant was that on the 4th May, the latest of these dates, he then being a clerk, or shroff, or servant, or officer in the employ of the bank, made an entry in a book belonging to the Bank which was in fact a false entry-that was, he made an entry in a bank deposit book with the object of inducing the bank to believe that these four sums of $250 each had been deposited in the Hongkong Savings Bank to the credit of Yeung Kan San, when
such matter of fact as a deposits had ever been made in the Bank. The prosecution had to satisfy the jury that defendant was at the date that these entries were made-say broadly in May last-in the employ of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank- ing Corporation as a clerk or servant or officer the second question was, did he make the en- tries which appeared in this book; the third question was, were those entires false; and the last and most important question was, whether: he did it with intent to defraud.
The third, fourth, and fifth prisoners were acquitted. The remainder were found guilty and were ordered to come up for sentence next morning,
July 20..
THE ARMED ROBBERY IN UN LOONG
GANDISTRICT,
The five Chinamen (the other three being discharged) found guilty of committing an armed robbery at Cheung Po, in the sub-dis trict of Pat-heung, in the district of Un Loong, same up for sentence, jen kreati
The Acting Attorney-General (the Hon. H. E. Pollock) said that this robbery was com. mitted upon a man called Wong Tai, and it would be proved that there was stolen from him, in the early morning of the 9th June, a sum of $30 and several articles. Wong Tai and his wife were sleeping in a cubicle at about two o'clock on the morning in question when the woman called out something and awoke Wong Tai. A man who was standing inside the cubicle pointed a revolver at him and said “I have come to ask money from you." Wong Tai replied, Please do not touch me; take what you like." The robber asked where the money was, and prosecutor pointed to a drawer in the dressing, table. The robber opened the drawer and took out $30, also opening a box and taking some things out. Wong Tai and his wife would They would identify first prisoner as the man. also identify second prisoner as the man who was at the door handing the things out. There were three men in the cubicle. With regard to the third and fourth prisoners some of the stolen property was found in their possession.
His Lordship, in delivering sentence, said You five men were unanimously found guilty by the jury yesterday of together committing an Armed robbery at the house of one Cheung Cheung, mituste at Cheung Po in the Un Loong district of the New Territory. I think you Ng Sha, the first prisoner are the most culpable, fon, it was your junk that was used to bring s the stolen property. You were in my opin
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The evidence given at the Magistracy was repeated.
The jury found prisoners guilty, and His Lordship sentenced them to five years' im- prisonment with hard labour, each of them being also ordered to receive 20 strokes with the birch rod within a week of sentence.
THE CHARGE AGAINST A BANK SHROFF.
Young Cheung U alies Young Kwan, formerly shroff at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, was charged with falsification of accounts. He pleaded not guilty. ·
The jury was composed of Messrs. A. H. Silverthorne, A. C. Oldort A. Abraham. J. Baptista, D. Kennedy, F. F. dos Santos, and Willy von Uffel.
مجھے
Mr. Francis, Q.C. (instructed by Messrs. Johnson, Stokes, and Master) appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Slade (instructed by Messrs Deacon and Hastings) for defendant.
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Mr. Francis said that for the last five or six years defendant had been in the employ of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation as one of their shroffs, and he remained in their employ up to the end of the month of May last. For some time previous to his. leaving his special employment was in the Savings Bank Department, which was for the time, being in change of Mr. Sexton, & European assi- stant in the bank. The duty of defendant in that department was principally, when any one came to put money in, to receive the money. count it fill in a memorandum, putting in the name of the person making the deposit and the amount of money deposited, this memorandum being handed over to the European clerk in charge. It was also an important part of de- fendant's duty, when money was paid to a savings bank depositor, to fill up a slip with the name of the person and the amount to be withdrawn, and submit that also the European employed in charge for signature. Defendant's general duties were also to assist in the office in any way he was directed. The Savings Bank was simply a branch depart- ment of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. As in nost savings banks the method of doing business was, when anybody came in and wanted to make a deposit they
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The prosecution then called their evidence, and the further hearing was adjourned.
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In answer to Mr. Slade, Sergeant Collett said he had heard that some one had 'secured $30,000 from the Bank by means of a fraudulent telegraphic transfer, but when be searched defendant's house he found nothing in connec- tion with that.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
At the monthly meeting of the General Committee of the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, held at 3 p.m. on Monday, the 10th July,.-Present: Messrs. R. M. Gray (Chairman), A. McConachie (Vice-Chairman), A. Haupt, Sir Thomas Jackson, Mr. W. Poate, Mr. H. A. Ritchie, Mr. N. A. Siebs, Hon. T. Mr. R. C. Wilcox H. Whitehead, and Secretary),
B
MINUTES, `
The minutes of the previous meeting (held on the 19th June) were read and confirmed.,:
THE SUBSIDIARY COINAGE.
In accordance with the decision come to at
the last meeting, a letter was, on the 20th June, addressed to the Government drawing attention to the growing evil caused by the displacement, of the local subsidiary coins by the tokens issued from the Canton Mint, through the lattter being sold at a discount.
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