"ARMS" FOR CHINA

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 132, 1 December 1938, Page 22

"ARMS" FOR CHINA

;;iMPUDENT FRAUD

CUSTOMS FINE IMPOSED

, > Hundreils" of qises. described to the Customs as containing tools and' parts for motor-cars turned out to be nothing but old junk and rubbish, according to counsel at the Mansion House yesterday, said the "News Chronicle" on November 2. j Dennis Corrigan, of Park Lane, was fined £500, with 25 guineas costs, with the alternative of six months' imprisonment, on a summons alleging that in Aptil "he caused to be made 'a faisfe; declaration relating to 550 cases of goods on s.s. Markland described as machine > tools and parts for motorcars when, in fact, they were bricks and refuse.'" Mr. B. M. Stephenson, for°»the Customs, said that the false declaration was made out by - man-named Clements^ who was a clerk in; a firm, of shipping agents., :On the document in question it was stated that the goods consisted of machine tools and parts for motorcars, and the value was shown as £9250, the final destination being Hong Kong, China. Mr.. Stephenson said that although the declaration was made'by Clements he did so because Corrigan had caused him to make it. "It is false," said Mr. Stephenson, "because.; ihe-goods turned' out to be old motor-car^ tyres and parts, of a , Wesley an church from North London which had been pulled down. In fact, it was . worth nothing •at all. It was useless junk—old rubbish and cement. "If was not worth anything like £900.0, and as for the country of final destination I do not know it—it only got as far as Marseilles, where it was stopped '\ AT CORRIGAN'S FLAT. The story started in March of this year with a meeting "between Corrigan and Mr. Chou Tin Shu, who was apparently a visitor in England who had access to the Chinese Embassy. MrV Stephenson said that the Chinese Embassy had no knowledge of,the business, although some of the documents were on Chinese Embassy notepaper and bore the seal of the Embassy. There was: to be a sale by Corrigan < of arms and ammunition which were to go to the war in China. ' Counsel said that the. matter was discussed at several interviews at Corrigan's flat, and later a policy was issued by an insurance company cover- / ing. half a million cartridges and fifty cases of machine-gun parts. When Corrigan saw the policy he said that machine-guns and cartridges wer^; not being shipped and that it was ''hardware." ;■ V. / Corrigan spoke of a man called Willing as being his nominee. On March 30 Willing met Corrigan and Chou in Willing's office and he received from them an invoice on Chinese Embassy notepaper. It related to half a million cartridges in zinc lined cases and 50 cases containing anti-tank guns. Willing paid Corrigan £5250. When the cases were opened at Marseilles they were found to contain rubbish. As a result Willing was placed under some sort of open arrest and it cost , him .£IOOO before he could regaiin his freedom. ■".'.' :,, . Detective-Inspector Allen, of the Sp.ecial ..Branch, said that Corrigan "changed his name from Kenneth Edward Cassidy in 1927 to Michael Dennis Corrigan. His nationality was uncertain. TWO PASSPORTS. In September, 1930, -he was sentenced at the Old Bailey to five years' penal servitude for fraudulent conversion of 'property. In connection with, two passports he claimed to. have been : born at Cochrane, Canada, and at County- Cork. "Since his release „ from prison in 19,34,'.', said the inspector, "he has lived irMafe^jSstyle. : He'qlaihis to be -n agent on commission' for'the sale of munitions. In v«» sespect he has ; ; come under the adverse notice of the British authorities." ;v v > . > Mk, Ji D. Gassed K.C.; defending, referring to Mr.; Stephcuson's statement.regarding the" changing of the document from munitions and guns to hardware, explained that while negotiations were in progress for the shipment .of these munitions' and guns, the actual munitions and guns had never been in this country. It was Mr. Chou's idea that a trap should be made 'o see whether these goods, when they got to Marseilles, were sent to Spain or whether they would go.on to China. ' If they had gone to Spain and the cases had contained what' was described as. rubbish, no harm would have been done. But they would have discovered what was the intention of the buyers of this ammunition. If on the other hand the cargo had gone to 'China, it, could 'have been arranged that the actual ammunition and guns could follow. Mr. Cassels said that many people actually had knowledge of the real contents of the cases, because three of them broke open when being hoisted aboard ship. If Corrigan had been ' telephoned to before a declaration was made he would not have hesitated to describe them as containing stone and motor tyres. ' - X Corrigan: had paid back just on £5000 out.of his own pocket, and the total sum he had received was £95; Giving his decision, the Magistrate, i Sir George Broadbridge, said: "There is no doubt whatever you were engaged in a grossly fraudulent transaction." . , • i " The Magistrate agreed to take £200 down and gave Corrigan seven days to pay the balance cf £300.