472
SUPREME COURT.
Saturday. 18th June.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR WILLIAM M.
GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE).
THE CALENDAR.
Eight cases figured on the calendar, fourteen persons being implicated. Six of the prisoners were charged with applying a false description to goods; one was charged with manslaughter. one with robbery, and one with forgery.
BETURNING FROM BANISHMENT.
Tsang Hop was charged with having returned to the Colony after being banished, und before the banishment had expired.
The Attorney-General, Sir Henry S. Berkeley, appeared for the Crown (instructed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor).
The accused was sentenced to five years banishment on March 22, 1902, but was found in Hongkong on May 29, 1904. He pleaded guilty.
The Chief Justice-Before you were banished you were convicted twice of larceny. You know perfectly well that anybody who returns from banishment is liable to twelve months' imprison- ment with hard labour, and at the end of that time he is banished again. You are sentenced to twelve months' hard labour, and to be banished at the end of that term. Keep away from the Colony; you are doing no good. hut are doing the Colony harm.
The Court adjourned until this forenoon at 10 o'clock.
Monday, 20th June,
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR W. M. GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE).
MANSLAUGHTER.
Ho Yan Sang, a Hakka coolie, was charged with having on 18th May caused the death of Chek Tsun.
He pleaded not guilty.
The following jury were empanelled: Messrs. L. Knox, Chow Dart Tong. F. A. Macintosh. J. Hemmings. W.O.C. Spalckhaver. C. E. P. Herbst and E. S. Joseph.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
collect 30 cents that a friend owed him. He was arrested in St. Francis Street. He took no part in the assault.
The Attorney-General. Hon. Sir Henry S. Berkeley (instructed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor), conducted the prosecution. In his opening statement he said that the deceased man lived with some other people at 15 Moon Street on the ground floor. Prisoner had only recently come to Hongkong. He was working with a rattan chairmaker in Sun Street. On the morning of the 18th May one of the deceased's 15 messmates had a quarrel with the chairmaker at whose house he had called to leave some clothes to be mended, the result being that one of the clogs belonging to the chairmaker was injured. About half-past six the same night the deceased was sitting at a table having chow along with several others when the chairmaker accompanied by the prisoner came to the shop and demanded that the damaged clog be replaced. They were told that they must wait until the people in the shop had finished their rice. In- stead of waiting, the chair-maker and the prisoner went away and came back reinforced by a number of other Hakka men and set upon the party as they sat at chow. The prisoner had a long pointed bamboo pole which he uted as a spear and with it prodded the deceased man, inflicting quite serious wounds. It was not sug- rested, however, that these wounds caused the death of the deceased. He was thrown down dur- ing the fracas and in the course of it he was jumped upon and part of his breast bone pene. trated his heart. Prisoner was pursned and cap- tured; all the others got away. The state of the matter was that deceased was killed in the course of an assault by several men in which the prisoner took an active part. Who it was that jumped on the deceased's breast was not known.
Evidence was given.
The prisoner, when asked if he had anything to say, stated that he had only come to Hong kong on the morning of the 18th May to
[June 27, 1904.
he did not know about this matter of the compensation money, which showed that the prisoner was an artful old scoundrel. He seemed to be a mixture of the knave and the fool; more of the knave than the fool. The sentence would be one year's imprisonment.
Tuesday. 21st June.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty. His Lordship in passing sentence of five years' imprisonment with hard labour said that for scarcely any reason whatever the accused had interfered in a quarrel that had nothing to do with him, and along with a number of other men joined together and set upon a poor old man who had nothing to do with the quarrel. bamboo. inflicting a The accused prodded the old man with a Although that wound did not cause the death wound an inch deep.
of the old man, yet the accused and his com- panions with their brutality did kill him. His Cheung Man was charged with having on imposed would have the effect of making Hakkation bearing the letters H. K. C, J. H. D. O." Lordship hoped that the sentence he had 19th May caused a certain false trade descrip-
men understand that they could not come here and assault whom they liked.
CHARGE OF ROBBERY.
Pun Tam Ou, a young Hakka, was charged with having on 24th May along with certain persons unknown committed assault and robbery at Hok Un and stolen $110 and a quantity of jewellery and clothing.
He pleaded not guilty.
The following jury was empanelled: Messrs. H. A. Burke, V. V. Carlowitz, P. Hall. G. P. M. Keith. R. Henderson, P. Tester, C. H. Falloon, and
The Attorney General stated that the robbery took place at the cement works at Kow- loon. The complainant and his wife were asleep by a number of men entering. in their house and were suddenly awakened They were
seized and bound. the house Was ran- sacked and various things were carried away by the robbers. The only point for the con- sideration of the jury was as to the identity of the prisoner. The woman met him in the street four nights after the robbery, recognised him as one of the gang and gave him in charge of the police.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR WILLIAM GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE).
AN OPIUM CASE.
to be unlawfully used on packages of opium dress; also with having in his possession opium to which this label had been attached.
He pleaded not guilty.
The following jury were empanelled :-Messrs. J. Hemmings. E. Mast, T. H. Darton. L. Marshall. F. A. Macintosh, L. Knox and W. J.
Terrill.
Hou. Sir Henry S. Berkeley, Attorney- General (instructed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor), conducted the prosecution; Mr. M. W. Slade. barrister-at-law (instructed by Mr. F. X. d'Almada e Castro, solicitor), was for the defence.
The Attorney-General in opening the case. said that the first charge against the prisoner was that of causing a false trade description to be applied to dross opium in imitation of the Opium Farmer's label. They were placed there without the authority of the Opium Farmer and for the purpose of deceiving the public and inducing them to believe that the opium which the defendant was selling was opium that had come through the Opium Farmer. If he applied that false description to the opium he was guilty of an offence against the Merchandise Marks Act. Defendant was the keeper of an opium divan, of which he had two, one of them being held in his wife's name. He was not licensed by the Opium Farmer but Ny Tseung, an old China-man, was charged
direct from the Government. About half-past with having on 13th January forged a certain ten in the evening of the 19th of May an excise receipt for money, for payment by the Govern-officer from the Opium Farm found some ment of Hongkong of the sum of $221 to one Chan Cheung with intent to defraud.
After hearing evidence the jury found the prisoner not guilty by a majority of six to one.
He was discharged.
DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT.
He denied the charge.
The jury was as follows:-Messrs. E. W. Terry. D. J. Pettigurah. H. Ehmer, A. H. A. Kleckner. P. Robert. E. Mast. and C. W. Henser.
The Attorney-General stated that since 1888 a man named Chan Cheung held a squatter's licence for a plot of land at Mati. He died in 1898. But that fact was suppressed from the knowledge of the Government, and the squatter's licence was still held by the prisoner, who impersonated the dead man Chan Cheung. That was 271 offence in itself. But the prisoner. not content with obtaining posses- sion of the land by falsely impersonating this dead
man. went further and forged 8 receipt in the name of Chan Cheung in order to get from the Government compen- sation money for a portion of the land that had been granted to Chan Cheung under a squat- ter's licence. It appeared that last year the Government wanted some land for the purpose of erecting a disinfecting station, and they chose a portion of this land for the site. Compensa- tion was fixed at $221, and prisoner came into the Public Works Department office and got the money and signed a receipt for it in the name of Chan Cheung. The fact of the death of Chan Cheung came to the knowledge of the Govern- ment through a quarrel among the people concerned. The only defence put forward was that the prisoner had bought the land from Chan Cheung's representative after Chan Cheung's death and that this man told him to go to the office and use the name of Chan Cheung. The jury. after hearing evidence, unani- mously found the charge proven.
His Lordship in passing sentence said that at last Sessions the prisoner along with a woman had been sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment for conspiracy to defeat the ends of justice. The sentence for such conspiracy | Was three years, but, as he was an old man. his Lordship had let him off with only one year's imprisonment. At that time
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illicit dross opium with some false imitations of the Opium Farmer's labels, a false imitation of his chop, and some packages bearing these false labels, in the bedroom of the compradore's department of Messrs. Meyer and Co. Sub- sequently a quantity of opium bearing these false labels and wrappers were seized in the prisoner's shop.
Evidence was led for the prosecution.
In the afternoon Mr. Slade made part of his opening speech for the defence, after which the Court adjourned until this forenoon at half-past ten o'clock.
Que more case remains to be disposed of.
Wednesday, 22nd June.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION,
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR WILLIAM GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE).
AN OPIUM CASE.
The hearing was resumed of the case in which Cheung Man was charged with having on 19th May caused a certain false trade description bearing the letters H. K. C. J. H. D. O." to be unlawfully used on packages of opium to which this label had been attached.
The following were the jury:-Messrs. J. Hemmings, E. Mast, T. H. Darton, L. Marshall, F. A. Macintosh, L. Knox and W. J. Terrill.
Hon. Sir Henry S. Berkeley, Attorney- General (instructed by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor), conducted the prosecution Mr. M. W. Slade, barrister-at-law (instructed by Mr. F. X. d'Almada e Castro, solicitor). appeared for the defence.
Mr. Slade having concluded his opening statement for the defence, evidence was led.
The prisoner was put into the box to give evidence on his own behalf. He stated that he had two dross opium divans which he had been carrying on for 20 years. During that time no criminal charge had ever been made against him. He obtained all his opium from the
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