A SAMOAN CRIME

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17225, 16 August 1921, Page 8

A SAMOAN CRIME

ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF CHINESE INTERPRETER. SIX MEN SENTENCED. (press association telegram.) AUCKLAND, August 15. The Tofua. brought from Samoa six Chinese to undergo imprisonment—four for life, and two for seven years—for attempted nhirder of a Chinese interpreter, who was frightfully hacked and marred for life. N He lost one eye. Dr. Ah-Lo, the Chinese Consul at' Apia, was charged similarly, but was acquitted, on tho ground that the evidence was all hearsay. Apparently, j whoever had induced the coolies to commit the crime had used the Consul's name;. The Court considered that An-Lo had acted unwisely in withholding information from the authorities. (special to "the press.") WELLINGTON, August 15. Official records indicate that a remarkable story attaches to the Irrival in Auckland of six Chinese who have been sentenced in Samoa to imprisonment lor having attempted to murder an official Chinese interpreter named Wong at Apia about two months ago. It was 1 suggested in the course of the Court proceedings that a Chinese Secret Society was responsible for the attack on the man, ana an extraordinary feature of the affair was the appearance in the dock of the.Chinese Consul, Dr. Ah-Lo, who was charged with being concerned in the outrage. The main eviaenoo against the Consul was that of a. ooolio *uune<l : Ho Ip. THe Court accepted the statements of Ho lp as truthful, but found that the persons who had given information to this man possibly made use of the name of the Consul as an additional Inducement to certain coolies to commit a crime. The Court considered that the Consul acted somewhat unwisely in not being more open as to what was going' on, out'it found him not guilty. It, transpired in the course of the evidence, however, that the Administration had < asked for his removal from Samoa, and j the Chinese Government had arranged i to transfer him. | The facts of the case are,not made fuljy olear in the published reports of tne proceedings. It . appeared that Wong claimed to be the representative of President gun Yat-Sen, nead of the: •Southern. GoveXiment of China. The Consul represented the Northern Go- i vernment. There was a quarrel at the j Consulate in the presence of a large • number of coolies, and it was suggested in evidence that when the coolies made , a demonstration against Wong tie Con- j sul said "Do not strike here." The meeting at which this incident occurred ; had been called for the purpose of form-! ing a society. The Consul stated that| it was to bo a Chinese benevolent so-i ciety, which would. look after the Chinese cemetery and care for old and disabled Chinese, but seme of the evidence suggested that the organisation was of quite a different character. The Consul went into the witness box to give evidence on his owntehnlf, but' he did not throw much light upon the j matter. One of the witnesses against' him had been Wong Yee ; and the Con-; sul told the Court that it was common ; knowledge among' the Chinese in Apia ! that Wong Yee was an informer. The j official report continues. - The Judge: Do you imply that yon share the common knowledge of thel CiiineseP . ' 'I Dr. Ah-Lo: I share the common knowledge. 1 kaew that it was a matter of common report so I had no speoial informer. Mr Woodward (Crown Prosecutor); You have a common knowledge that Wong Yee was nn informer, Wno does he give information to, and what has ho ever infoftaied aboutP . Dr.. Ah-Lo: All I know is that he' was sneaking round getting information from labourers: That is the report that came to me in my official capacity. His Honour: Someone did report to you thenP , Dr. Ah-Lo: Yes, but I cannot put my. hand on any one man. Later on the Consul was questioned closely by the Crown Prosecutor regarding a secret society called "The Triad." He said he had felt the necescity of' rooting but any organisation of the kind, and he had posted up an official notice in the Chinese merchants stores forbidding labourers from forming secret societies. Mr Woodward: This "Triad" is B criminal society is it not? Dr. AhrLo: I do ; not say that, but the majority of the members are criminals, and it is a society which- my Government has forbidden. They are always of the criminal classes. It has been made illegal ever since the organisation came into existence. It is lLegal in Hong-Kong. Mr Woodward: I think its methods of gaining its ends are sometimes by terrorism and sometimes by murder. Dr. Ah-L*: I do not know much about it. My influence has always been on the side of law and order." Mr Woodward: There were these men in Samoa belonging to this society. Did you tell tho Administration that these men were here? Dr. Ah-Lo: There was no society, and there is no society now, to my knowledge. Mr Woodward: You had this much,

knowledge that you issued notices abort '- { *" > 'i Dr. Ah-Lo: It was rumoured that M - attempt was being made to organh* f the society. It had not come into bs» C The references to informers in tit *< evidence seem to havo been connect*! -! with the importation of opium faff 1 Samoa. The drug is prohibited tbm I but a certain amount of it finds Its wi? 1 to the Chinese compounds, ' -. *f