THE AH CHING INQUIRY.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8360, 20 December 1892, Page 5

THE AH CHING INQUIRY.

{fUBSS ASSOCZA2IQ3 VSHSO&iM^ WEUUNOIOH, December 19. At the Ah Choig inquiry two CSusetf and.au interpreter declined to gir» evidence, stating they bad boea Advised to do ao ooonseL IJr. Fooks, the &up£ttufct*c.da&ir «4 the Aftyloiu, deposed g&at the deceased wus admitted au October 2s%h» oral was then violent. These was no particakir change until Koveinber 3rd, <grb«a the head attendant informed him that lbs psiie&C had been violent* Witness -exmrnstsd Ah Ching, ami found his ribs brokea oxx eaetl side, the one external mark beiug a slight swelling under the Eight aim i>vcu tiha. Witness warned the attesosat to he particularly careful of the b»r in caaetxiueuotj, bub took m> steps to teeaS the ribs as under the ckesgaalaueea theso

was greater ch&&<» of harm uliao of goad by treating them. 2faxt morxriog witesa found dji extensive discoioataUcu ou the left cheat, bat none on She right; side. After this tho patient grew weaker, bo si«pa fairly well, but was at- times resliass -xumL November Sbh, &ud the neat Eaoaffldag ha died. Witness m&d&-» jpas* mattes* oa the 10th, when ho saw injuries in esiwiag through tho skull; it appeared eafter than usual, the brain maiubnuvoa wssa severely inflamed and cougeat«dwsidtkero was excess of iluid. The Ur&in itself was greatly congested and eoft. In exuuinißg the chest witness found the fnsctured and suppurated, foar aths ou tho side under the arm aud irraou Che le&sMle fractured and suppurated. The left pleural cavity was full of blood from the Boveced vessels. Along the ribs there and tho discolouration wan caused! by cxi travasation from severed blood vessels. Tba injuries might be caused without exteosal bruise by pressure on the soft sud&KS. He could not Bay how long it fcsdk, for the brokeaxib to show on toe*RZt£tc&? it might not necessarily show at oil, hntfche could noc speak from persoaal expeEiesGe. His opinion was founded on English lanacy reports, where it often happened thit broken ribs were not discovered until the post viortem. Ah Citing's bunea spppmeaSt} softer thau normal. In tong standing mm* tal diseases bones ofteit-bocoine soft by ate*> phic change, when the ribs got iotosanhi condition that in some post vwrtems he waaj able to crush them up in one hand* Had; witness found broken ribs eaclier itf could not have done anything for them.} as fractures on botu sides wouM have necessitated strapping on boitaaidaj. The object of strapping w&a to sat the ribaj at rest by restricting respiration, and in this case successful strapping would hssai prevented any respiration, btrappiiig waa a long process, and it would nave been, necessary to have put tho patient uadaE* chloroform, otherwise hia reatieesueaa mights have caused what actually did cause Ihkß death, the cutting of a blood-vessel. Thai broken ribs were not discavxtred till ten days after his admiseion j prior to; that there was nothing to draw attention to any injury. TJio imm waS; active and; except lor c, cough appeareof to be breathing all right, and there was no* blood in expectoration. His tomperafcara was not taken till November 3rd on account of tbe patient'e violence, but whan it was taken at the time the breakages weft* discovered it was 102, which gave witness an idea of pneumonia. Witness at ficsfcthought this was the cause of death bates he was not satisfied he noted -on thc-uofcica , of death to the Coroner that he consid«rc& a post mortem necessary. He did not remember getting authority to make Ik The membranes of the brain wero matted and adherent. Hβ heard from an attendant that when Ah Clung was in Ho. 1 room ho threw himself about. The room was nofc quite safe for a very violent patient, owing to the position in which the observation hole was placed and to projections, and Ho. 2 padded room was faulty, as the pads were not high enough, and the place of observation was not properly situated. HAh Ching had thrown himself from a ledge 7ft high oa to tho padded floor he might have fractured hia ribs, more especially if there was » tightly staffed bed oa the floor. The vemn v/aa confined in a jacket of strong canvas, hia arms being fastened across his eliest, wheu he was put in a padded room, and ho coald not have climbed when in that efcafca. Except in cases of sudden violence tho rules forbade restraint or seclusion unless ordered by the Medical Superiutendeni j but in bis absence attendants Tvero aafchoriaed to use restraint, though, they must! report to him immediately on bis return. In Ah Ohing's case reatraint was not authorised. Xα other countries inquests were not required in every ease of a Itmufcic's! death, but the New Zealand lawrequired fcbis. Duncan McKay, head attendant, deposed that after putting Ah Going into tho strait* jacket he was placed in a padded room. Next morning witness saw the patient, and he got the jacket off. Witness examined Ah Ching on admission to the Asylum, but found no broken ribs. When the strait-jacket was being placed oa tlxe patient Edwards, an attendant, had a etrap round the former's neck to prevent him biting. Witness ordered its removal, aad reported Edwards, who had since been dismissed. When witness found tno ribs broken, ho got, at the suggestion of tbe doctor,..another Chinaman to- go into the cell, andtry to get Ah Ching to uay how it happened, bnt the man could. discover nothing. Witaeaa had been connected with the Asylum since 2386, during which he had seen dozens-of patieutß in the strait jacket, itobert Herse, anofeber attendant, stated that before Ai* Chingwaa placed m the strait jacket he saw him "bash" himself agaiust tho walls and climb on to the ledges of the-efcottere unci throw himself down full length on to the floor, which was strewn with bedding. After he was put into a padded., room he several times climbed on to the top-of the padding and threw himself down. This witness was certain no one knelt on Ah Ching. Ah Ching was the most violent patient witness had ever seen, and he threw himself about in every con* ceiv&ble manner. He was not snrpri&ed that Ah Chiug broke hie ribs, it v/as a wonder he did not kill himself outdght. The police constables who conveyed Ah Ching to the Aeylnm stated that they had to hold him on the floor of the waiting room until the head attendant canus, but no one knelt on him. Dr. McGregor gaffo evidence as an expert on the general policy of asylum management io the colony, and as bearing upon the manner in which tho Chinaman waa treated he referred to the crusade preached against the use of tho strait jacket), and contended that the use of mechanical restraint was in some case 3 neceasary for the safety of the patient. He quoted authorities who wrote in support of physical restraint iv certain cases, and held that in the present instance the right thing had been done. No one of any experience would have hesitated to pub Ah Ching iv the strait jacket. He admitted that ths rooms were bad, in so far as there were ledges on which a violent patient might climb, and from wliich he might throw himself down, aud that was the way iv which he believed Ah Ching received the injuries. The enquiry was adjourned till to-morrow.