134
to
Continuing, witness said he saw defendant at | the end of the 9th moon last year. A friend asked him to lay some concrete and handed him piece of paper, and he went to see the inspector about it. "When he got to the branch office he saw defendant and said—" I wish you to go 240 Hollywood Road and inspect some concrete." Defendant looked at the paper, then looked at witness after which he said he would go in the afternoon' about 2.30 pm. He then said "It seems to me you are familiar to me 'I said— "Yes. I recognise you. When you were at school with your brother I was a schoolmate as well." Defendant asked witness if he was a building contractor and witness replied that he was. He said" Would you like to do some concrete work?' Witness said he would. Defendant said— * Afterwards, when I send out paper for concrete purposes I will inform you. But you must rem- ember me." Witness replied-" That goes with- out saying" Defendant then told him to wait for him at No. 240, and be waited until the in- spector returned. The conversation was ¦ conducted first in English but afterwarda in Chinese. Defendant understood Chinese very well. This conversation took place in the public office. When defendant arrived at the house at Hollywood Road he examined the conerete and said it had to be relaid. Witness relaid After this witness went occasionally to defendant's office and asked him for work. Sometimes he would be told of a number of houses where work was to be done. He got other jobs from defendant, one being the concreting of floors of two houses a little further down Hollywood Road. He got other jobs in Lascar Row and Des Voeux Road West. The hous s in Des Voeux Road West had to be ré-concreted. He relaid the floors. Exemption was granted in the case of certain houses in Queen's Road West. Witness knew the broker Mok, who got business for him. When witness became friendly with defendant he took Mok to him. Defendant 68 W
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRES8 AND not. Defendant said they were all good, and told witness to call at his house about one o'clock. He called 8.4 requested and saw defendant in his bedroom. Taking out of his pocket the notices before the Court, he handed the defendant $250, and defendant returned him 850. Witness told defendant to sign the papers, or the Chinese would not believe him. Defendant signed there and then. Witness asked the inspector to inspect 8 and 10 Bonham Strand West, and he agreed. Including these numbers there were eleven houses inspected. After the inspector had written on the papers he handed them to witness, who in turn handed them to Mok and he took them away.
Remanded.
him, and witness told defendant he was busy in The day time. His friend was a broker, and defendant could give him information. Defend. ant said “All right." Some times the numbers of houses were sent to witness, who would give them to Mok, and Mok would tell kim who were the owners. Mok was a rice broker. The slip of paper produced had his name and address on it. Mok distributed similar bits of paper. On a certain day in November a man from the Yuen Fat bong called on him. He did not go to the hong, but asked Mok, who was sitting there, to go. Mok went.
Later he returned bringing two notices. After a conversation with Mok be took the paper to the defendant at his house. He saw defendant. No one else was
14
present. Witness said to the inspector-"The owner of these houses asks you to exempt them from being re-concreted. The owner will give you a present." Defendant sid-" If he desires that no concrete be laid I will do it as before, $25 a house. I will go and look at them to-mor- row. Defendant then gave witness the paper and he said he would inform the owner. When the inspector said "the same as before" he referred to two houses in Des Vœux Road, Nos. 119 and 121. The owner asked to be exempted from re-concreting the houses. Witness showed defendant the papers, and defendant said—“ If conerete is not to be laid, $25 each house." Witness said he would go aud speak to the owners, and defendant said he would inspect the premises in the afternoon. After an inspection of the premises defendant said—“ All right. Can do,' and witness paid him $50. He returned witness $10. The first money he pid defendant, $250, was handed to him by the last witness. When he received it he went to see the inspector at the office, and said the owner of the premises in question had sent him the thing. Later the inspector met witness and his foki at the houses in Queen's Road-West, near the Civil Hospital, and inspected them. The inspection was made by the floor being thumped to hear the sound. On leaving these houses they went and examined others in Possession Street, Queen's Road West and Bonham Sɩrand West. When they entered the Yaen Fat hong shop a hole was dug in the floor. He saw the concrete, and considered it of ordinary quality. The defendant said it was soft. After leaving the Yuen Fat kong-witness asked defendant which of the houses inspected were good and which were
The hearing of the charges of bribery pre ferred against Inspector Hubert J. W. Gidley of the Sanitary Board was continued.
Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor, prosecuted and Mr. C. D. Wilkinson (of Messrs Wilkinson and Grist) represented the defendant.
Chak Hok-king was further examined. He said the notice produced was signed by defendant. It was first handed to him by Mok in witness' shop last year. After Mok gave him the paper he took it and showed it to the inspector. He saw defendant at his house and told him he was the owner of 8250 if he would exempt an owner from concreting his house. The inspector looked at the notice and said all right; he said he would go and inspect the house on the following day. Witness saw him inspect it. His coolie was also present. He could not remember whether any hole was dug in the floor. After the inspection witness asked defendant whether the floor was satisfactory, and defendant said it would do.
At lunch tima witness went to the inspector's house and handed him $50. No one else was presented. The $50 was given him by Mok.
The inspector on receiving the money gave witness $10. Witness pointed out to the Court what he saw the inspector write on the notice. It read
.
|
H. J. W.
Examined and found good. Gidley. 29/19/05 and 13 Bonham Strand West." This was written immediately after witness made the payment. Defendant first wrote it in pencil, and witness said "It is in pencil. They won't believe me. It might come off." Defendant then wrote it in ink, and witness took the paper to his shop and handed it to Mok.
Cross-examined-Witness did not assist his father in the business until one or two years before his death. He had been in the business
twelve or thirteen years, and left school when he was a man. There was not another cou tractor firm here by the name of Lik Kee.
Since his father died he had made a little money. In the contract to pull down Lane, Crawford's old premises he spent more money than he had received. the Yuen Fat hong affair he did not often After go to see the defendant about more business. He had had no quarrel with him, and was aware that it was a criminal offence for defen. dant to accept bribes. Witness was not asked to give a receipt for the $250.
Mr. Wilkinson-Are you aware that it is s criminal offence to induce a person to accept or offer bribes ?
Witness-Yes.
Mr. Bowley-I submit, your Worship, the witness is not bound to answer that question.
His Worship saw no objection to the question being answered.
Mr. Bowley-He need not answer the question My friend is asking him to incriminate himself, and he is entitled to the protection of the Court.
His Worship-He is not bound to answer any question that will tend to incriminate him, but I don't see that the question asked will.
Mr. Wilkinson-This is really a waste of time. As a matter of fact the question is the gist of the whole thing.
Mr. Bowley-This man is not on his trial for offering a bribe and need not answer the ques- tion unless he likes.
Mr. Wilkinson-Whether he is aware or no', the fact remains that he is guilty.
Mr. Bowley-If he has admitted the fact, he is not bound to admit guilty knowledge of the fact. His Worship-I don't see any ground for his refusing to answer the question.
Mr. Bowley-If he has incriminated himself. he is not bound to incriminate himself further.
[September 3, 1906.
His Worship-Wy opinion is that the answer to the question will not tend to incriminate him, but I will make a note of the objection.
Mr. Wilkinson (to witness)~Are you not afraid of being prosecuted!
Witness-No. It was advertised in the newspapers that we were to tell the truth, and we would get the protection of the Commission. Continuing, witness said he had never been otherwise than on friendly terms with the defendant. He turned round now because the Government had found defendant out. Defendant had never refused to get witness work, and now he pitied the defendant. Last year he had been to see Inspector Lamble about three times. It would not be about fifty- or sixty times During the last three years he had been at the branch office on several occasions, but he could not remember when he saw defendant. Witness' shop was in the defendant's district, but he did not know how long defendant had been on the district. He could not say whether an inspector had been His premises were in East Street and the only to inspect his premises once in two months. other premises he represented were the Yuen Fat hong and those he mentioned yesterday.
Mr. Wilkinson-Have you ever negotiated with other owners to get bribes?
that
answer
His Worship-He needn't question. (To the interpreter)—Ask him if he wishes to answer that question.
Witness-No.
for other owners than the Yuen Fat hong. He Continuing, witness said he did concreting did work for eight or ten houses in Wanchai, but the work was very difficult to get. Some- times his friends asked him to do it; they were the owners.
When his friends were not owners, Mok got the business for him. So far se he knew Mok did not act as broker to other contractors.
Mok endeavoured to ascertain whenever notices were sent to owners of houses
by the Sanitary Board, and then he would try to get the work for witness. He allowed Mok little more, sometimes less. a commission of $2 on every house; sometimes a On the occasion when defendant gave him $50 he gave Mo‹ $10. When the $250 was paid to him he took it to defendant's house. He first went to see defen- dant at the office, but Mok did not go with him. Mok was present when the money was paid to witness, and when he (witness) went to defendant he left Mok behind the shop, where he found him when he returned. He called on the inspector at his office between 10 and 11 a.m.
There were a number of Chinese
present, but he could not say whether Inspector Lamble was there. The desk opposite defen. dent's in the office was occupied by a Chines clerk. Witness always conversed with the defen- dant in Chiness. He kept an account book in connection with his business, but had no record in his books of the portions of the two bribes he had received. Witness had not gone round with other inspectors to watch them examining cou arete. Only the premises he had already meu- tioned were found`satisfactory by the inspector, so far as he knew. The $25) from the Yasa Fat houg was taken to him before the the man who handed it to him that the inspec defendant had inspected the premises. He told tor had not inspected the premises. Witnes when he was twenty-one years of age: had been to school for five or six years, and left
Re-examined-Whenwitness leftschool he was in the same class as defendant's elder brother, He was rebuild- who sat next him in the class. ing part of Lane, Crawford's old premise, but the work was not finished yet. Before he saw the notice in the newspapers about the Com- mission he did not speak to anyone about defendant. He had his house limewashed twice a year. Mr. Lamble, and not defendant, looked after that.
Ko Chan-king, sworn, said he was a dealer in pre-erved fruits. His shop name WAS
nn Tak-ng. Ια November Jast
year he was occupying Nos. 138, 142, 144 and 156 Queen's Road West. A sanitary inspector then called and inspected the ground surfaces of the four houses, The inspector was accom. panied by a Chinaman who carried a pick. A small hole about ten inches square was cut in the ground surfaces of two of the houses. The holes had since been repaired by his foki, but the Sanitary Board had not paid for them.
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