ENG-1947 — Page 136

Police sub-inspector who saved 10 lives when a disastrous fire gutted the s.s. "Sai On" as she lay alongside on 4th February, 1947.

Types of Crime.

There was a marked decrease in the desperate type of crime which was very prevalent during the months following the war.

Serious crime for the period under review amounted to 13,704 cases, a figure which is considerably below the corres- ponding figure for the year 1940. There were 1,651 reports of burglary and larceny from dwellings and although this type of offence is decreasing, the figure is still very high compared with pre-war years. Thefts of all types amounted in property value to $3 million of which almost $500,000 were recovered. There were 375 reports of robbery; 180 robbers were prosecuted in respect of 83 cases. Altogether, 6,303 persons were prosecuted during the year for serious offences and 99,166 for minor offences.

A wave of extortion, accompanied by the placing of bombs in threatened premises occurred during the early part of the year, but this campaign came to a sudden end with the trial and execution of the leader of a gang styled, "The Overseas Chinese Youth Movement Party," which had battened on various hotels, restaurants, theatres and other such establishments for some months.

On the 1st of January, 1947, a European Public Works Department officer was killed whilst bravely tackling armed robbers who held up a railbus on the Kowloon-Canton Railway a short distance north of Shatin.

Triad Society elements engaged in monopolies and "pro- tection" rackets continued to flourish but marked progress was made during the year by the Police in dealing with them. Altogether, 77 Triad members were convicted and imprisoned for such offences as membership of Triad Societies, demanding money with menaces, disorderly conduct, possession of weapons and so on. In addition, 108 Chinese males were dealt with by deportation for Triad society activities and 14 were dealt with as vagrants. 27 Triad groups have been discovered in Hong Kong of which the most actively lawless appears to be the Wo Shing Wo.

PRISONS.

The Prison Buildings.

Hong Kong in 1941 possessed three prisons but after the liberation of the Colony it was not until 1st October, 1947, that all three institutions were again in operation. The main gaol, Stanley Prison, which is situated in rural surroundings on Stanley Peninsula in the southeastern corner of Hong Kong, is probably the best and most modern building of its kind in the Colonial Empire. Built in 1937 it is architecturally a fine prison and is admirably suited for housing convicts, old offenders and hardened criminals. It was originally built to

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