ROBBED AND MURDERED.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 129, 2 June 1922, Page 4

ROBBED AND MURDERED.

KILLING OF CHOW VAT. SHOT FKOM BEHIND. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") WANGAKUI, this day. The murder of Chow Vat at J-,ongacre on Wednesday Bight is stili involved in mystery. It appears to ha certain that robbery was the motive. The person who committed the murder had evidently been sufficiently long in the district to spy out the movements of his victim. The murderer evidently came to the conclusion that Chow Vat was the owner of the gardens and that he would have cash in his possession. This theory of robbery is substantiated by the fact that a small empty purse, the property of deceased, was found a short distance away from where the body was lying. A Press representative was also shown a piece of broken tape with which deceased had his valuables tied to his vest pocket. The tape would be used to make sure that while he was working what money or other valuables re had did not get lost if they became dislodged from his pocket. One end of the tape shows distinctly where it ha- , been snapped, and on the other end there i s blood.

A post-mortem examination held by two medical men yesterday a f tarnoon disclosed four bullets of small calibre lodged in the head. The position of the bullets clears up the mystery of how the old man wa'.ked ~o far after having been fired at. At the ■back door two shots were fired and went in just above the mouth. These lodged at the 'back of the head and were battered through coming into contact wit'i bone. It is now very evident that tho murderer, seeing that his victim was like-ly to reach one of the settler 5 ' houses in the vicinity, finished him off on the roadside. One of the bullet-; went in at the back of the right e n r and the other entered the temnle. One ■bullet was found, practically intact, embedded in the brain.

It is difficult To surmise why tlin murderer carried the body hai-k down the road a distance of " 10110 yard-, except that the plan where Chow Vat died was not a very secure or.c in -.-in-h the clothes, being so near to a settler* house. There was aNo a certain amount of risk of being *een had a motor car with bright headlights appeared on the road, but evidently the murderer took the risk and got away without beinj detected.

It has teen stated by -eitlers that on tlie afternoon of the crime two stranpo men were seen in the locality. Hoveevor. it was possible that this may havo no 'bearing on the subject, a* it i* nothin.sr unusual at the present timn to see plenty of mp n fwnsrging it on the main roads in quest of work. Apart. from the formal opening the inquest is not likely to take place for several days until the police have had an oppor. tunity to make further investigation*.