MURDER CHARGE AT AUCKLAND

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26159, 8 July 1950, Page 8

MURDER CHARGE AT AUCKLAND

ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL LOWER COURT HEARING CONCLUDED (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, July 7. Evidence of the movements of both the accused was given by a Tongan schoolboy this morning when the hearing of evidence was resumed in the Magistrate's Court concerning the murder charge arising from the death of Lee Hoy Chong, a retired market gardener. The men charged are Francis Patrick O’Rourke,<aged 35, a labourer, and Ronald Hugh Malcolm, aged 22. a freezing works hand. The first witness was Tamase Riggs, aged 14$, who has lived in Auckland for four years. He stopped with Malcolm and his wife for four or five months last year, calling them uncle and autwie. He knew Lee Hoy Chong as Jimmy. O’Rourke had tea with the Malcolms on May 22. he said. O’Rourke and Malcolm were drinking beer after tea. Questioned by the Crown Prosecutor (Mr V. R. Meredith), the witness said: “Ronnie Malcolm gave Frank O’Rourke a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and took a torch off the dressing table.” The two men then left but returned with Betty Sheridan. After having more beer the men left but returned about 8.30. O'Rourke then went out, followed by Malcolm, added Riggs. They said they were going to see a friend. The ■witness saw them turn into Cook street. With the two women, he played cards, continued Riggs. O'Rourke and Malcolm returned some time later. Mr Meredith: Did they bring anything back? Riggs: Yes. Frank O’Rourke had a brown paper parcel of opium. Where did he get it?—From Jimmy’s house. What happened to the parcel?— Frank gave it to Ronnie who opened it and showed it to Nellie Malcolm. “Ron put the screwdriver and pliers on the shelf, and Frank said he was going back to wait for Jimmy.” Riggs continued. “When they had gone as far as the gate. Ron returned with a piece of rope which he cut in half ■with the scissors. He then left again.” The witness washed the dishes and lay down under some blankets on the floor. The wireless stopped. Betty Sheridan went home, and Nellie lay on the bed. Ron and Frank returned some time later. They told Nellie and the witness that “they’d got nothing on him.” Blood Seen on Trousers He saw blood on O’Rourke's trousers and O’Rourke was trying to scratch it off, added Riggs. There was blood on the back of Frank’s right hand and Ron told him to go and have a wash. O'Rourke did not have a wash. Frank had a cheque book which he said he had found while searching “the place,” continued the witness. Frank told them he had seen Lee Hoy Chong's name somewhere in the book. O'Rourke took the parcel of opium, saying he knew a good place to hide it. He also said he had some old clothes somewhere, but could not get them out without £3. Nellie told Ron to give Frank the money.

The witness was at Malcolm’s on Tuesday afternoon when Ron returned with a newspaper and said Jimmy had been murdered. “Ron said he had told Frank he could not hit a man and Frank had told him to pass the axe." added Riggs. “Ron said he stayed outside the house because he was frightened—he heard banging about five or six times. He said he was going to run when O’Rourke called him back. He went inside the house with frank and saw Jimmy lying on the floor. He was still breathing when they left.” Joseph Ranapia, a labourer, told Mr Meredith he was serving a sentence for car conversion on May 30. He said O'Rourke stopped at the same boardinghouse as he did. O’Rourke asked him on the morning of May 23 if he knew where he could opium. The witness said no. O’Rourke said it was worth over £3O an ounce. The witness let him put it in his suitcase for that day. O'Rourke then went to work at West field with the witness. To Mr Meredith: “On the way. he related the circumstances of the Chinese murder. He said they went there and apparently they were making a noise. The Chinese came down to investigate. O'Rourke said he hit the Chinese on the head with a lump of wood. He said Malcolm got frightened when he hit the Chinese, and ran away.” On Wednesday. May 24. O'Rourke and he went by train to Frankton, said Ranapia. There O'Rourke told him he was going to sell the opium to a Chinese he knew. They later went by train to Matamata but O'Rourke could not sell the opium there. They went on to Tirau. That night a motor-car was “pushed out of a garage’’ and they drove towards Rotorua, but ran out of petrol. O'Rourke got another car from a garage and they continued to Rotorua, but stopped there onl - five minutes before returning to Auckland. - The car ran out of petrol at Mauurewa. They got a lift in a truck to Westfield and caught a bus to Auckland. He went I to Malcolm's place on the Friday mern- i ing and Nellie Malcolm told him! O'Rourke had said he was not to be I inquisitive or O'Rourke would put a | buliet through him. While the witness was working at; Westfield on the Tuesday, O’Rourke; called and said he had a car. He said [ he would drive the witness home. The i witness drove the car towards the city When they passed a constable at New- j market. O'Rourke told him to step on | it and the witness went flat out through the traffic lights. Mr Meredith: Where did they catch you? The witness: I stopped the car. We ran in different directions and they caught me in Greys avenue. Detective R. J. Walton, who searched the body of Lee Hoy Chong, said he found a shilling, four blue gambling cards, and a safe deposit receipt. Opium Found in Pocket “I was in Queen street on May 301 when Malcolm was apprehended.” the i detective added. “I saw Chief-Detec-: tive Aplin take from Malcolm’s hip • pocket a parcel which contained. opium in a raw state. Later I searched ; Malcolm’s house and it und a screw-; driver and a pair of pliers. In the pas-| sage, hanging on a nail. I found a leather jacket. Together with a torch. I handed these articles to Dr. Gilmour.” Detective J. Russell said that on May 30 he took possession of a screw j driver and a pair of pliers as well as i a sports coat from Malcolm's house. The coat appeared to have blood on I the sleeve. Witness also made a parcel J of ashes found in the copper.

Analyst’s Evidence Kenneth Massey Griffin, a Government analyst, said that on May 24 he examined a carpet at 11 Baker street and found two right foot prints on it outlined in blood. They were made by a small boot or shoe. He later found one print agreed exactly with a shoe size 5$ given him by the police. The other footprint also agreed in outline with the shoe. The outlines did not correspond to the prints made by Arthur Chan or Quong Sing or Polly Grace or Mary Annie Te Hira. In a parcel of ashes taken from underneath the witness found metal studs similar to those used on gloves. Dr. Walter Gilmour, a pathologist, said he conducted an external examination of the body of Lee Hoy Chong at 11 Baker street on May 23. He later made a post-mortem examination. In his opinion death occurred from fractures of the skull, injury to the brain and hemorrhage, of which hemorrhage was the most serious Several hours could have elapsed between the injuries being inflicted and death. An axe could have made the wounds.

Dr. Gilmour told the Court that he thought the head of an axe. which was produced as an exhibit, had caused the wounds. He had examined the axe and found human blood on it. He also found human hair similar to that of deceased adhering to the axe head. Blood was also found on shoes, a piece of rope, a pair of trousers, a sports jacket, and a leather jacket handed to him bv the nolice. Senior-Detective W. R. Fell said that ©n May 30 he was present when Mai-

colm was brought to the detective office. Witness told Malcolm he had reason to believe that a packet of opium found in his possession had been stolen from deceased’s premises on the night of the murder. Malcolm then made a statement which was taken down on a typewriter. On the application of Mr R. K. Davison. who appeared for O'Rourke, the Magistrate (Mr J. Morling. S.M.) ruled that the statement was not to be published. Mr Davison’s objection to the publication of a verbal statement by Malcolm to Detective Fell was also ; upheld by the Magistrate. Interview With O’Rourke I “It appears that O’Rourke had been i brought to the detective office about • 5 p.m. on May 30 in connexion with I another matter concerning a motor- ! car,” said witness. “I asked O'Rourke ! where he lived and he said ‘Around 1 about where my friends are.’ I asked i him if he had been working, and he . said he had worked three days since ■ he came to Auckland. I told him I ! was making inquiries about the murder of Lee' Hoy Chong. He said Is lit true that the place had been broken I into twice within the last six months?’ and I told him that I did not know. He said: ‘I am more concerned about to-night’s doings. About the car. I’ll have more to say about this when we get to Court.’ O Rourke said ‘How did you get on to us? Did you get on to Malcolm first?’ I told him that he went around Hamilton trying to sell opium. He said ‘How did they know me there?’ I said ’They did not know you but they gave a very good description of you.’ He said ‘lf I had had my way we would have burned that stuff. It’s no good anyway.’ ” Witness had asked O’Rourke if he wanted to give an account of what he did on Monday night. May 22, but he said he did not wish to do so. At 10.35 p.m. on that day witness formally charged O’Rourke with the murder of Lee-Hoy Chong. Witness added that he later recovered a piece of bloodstained rope from the top of a building in Union street. Both accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and were committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Malcolm was remanded on a further charge of breaking and entering the house of Lee Hnv Chong on May 22.