DANGEROUS DUTY

Evening Star, Issue 21622, 18 January 1934, Page 14

DANGEROUS DUTY

AMONG CHINESE GUNMEN PERILS OF THE HONGKONG POLICE Probably in no others part of the Empire are the regular police forces in such daily peril as in the British colony of Hongkong (writes James Clifford, in the ‘Liverpool Weekly Post’). Jn the treaty port—which cannot strictly, be classified as within Imperial domains—the police forces are mainly British, and are usually controlled by an ex-British Army officer. The British visitor to Hongkong receives a surprise when he sees the iim maculate white sergeants in their smart drill uniforms, wearing heavy .45 revolvers on their Sam Brown belts, it seems so utterly un-English. But he speedily learns how necessary is this armament. Anyone who has ever visited China knows the Chinese criminal for a gunman, and a very dangerous i man. Jn the hallway at Hongkong police headquarters is a large brass plate, on which are inscribed the names of officers who fell While performing their duties. It is a woefully long list, and bears eloquent testimony to the dauntless courage of the men who made the man of the law feared in the colony. TRACKING DOWN. PIRATES. The police force is divided into three sections. A, B, and C. “ A ” class men are white officers, who automatically take on the rank of sergeant on joining. B ” are huge, bearded Sikhs, and “ C’V class consist of Chinese officers In 'summer white officers wear white drill uniforms with sun helmets, and the Sikhs and Chinese wear khaki shirts and shorts. Winter uniform is dark blue, with a white stripe running down the trousers. t But most important is the criminal intelligence department, now controlled by Mr Timothy Murphy, whose work :n the East has made his name feared by criminals throughout the colony. The C.LD. controls a number of white investigators and an army of Chinese detectives, arid informers. Its work includes crime of every kind and piracy. More than one pirate who thought himself safe from arrest has been picked up in Hongkong, identified as having taken place in a piratical attack, and hanged in Hongkong gaol. Hongkong police had many shooting affrays with crooks in the early days of the colony, and the manner in which they stamped out the activities of murderous tongs was something of an epic. The worst gun battle in which the force ever took part occurred some years ago, and cost the lives of two white officers and a number of Chinese. GRIM STREET BATTLE. Word reached police headquarters that a particularly dangerous gang of native criminals had been looting homes in the native quarter, and had taken refuge in a house in the Yaumati district of Hongkong. Accordingly De-tective-inspector Mortimer O’Sullivan and another white officer and several Chinese police went to the house. They were about to enter when a fusilade of shots burst upon them from the windows, and the two white officers were shot down. With great courage Inspector O’Sullivan drew his revolver and fired his last few rounds at his attackers. Then he fell back dead. i Reinforcements were rushed to the scene, and a battle similar to that in Sydney street, London, raged for (hours. The crooks were well armed, arid before they were beaten they shot several Chinese and wounded another white officer. One of them almost escaped, but was shot down by a naval rating who had taken a position in a house nearby. . , In the old days Hongkong’s fire brigade was largely recruited from volunteers from the police.' This meant that the officers who received extra pay for those duties were liable to be called out at any time of the night to quell, a blaze. After a hard day on the beat one can imagine their feelings when they were dragged from , comfortable slumber to rush forth with the brigade. One of the worst periods for the Hongkong- policeman of to-day is the occasion of the visit of a Chinese dignitary to the colony. In Hongkong many political refugees from China are to be found, and there is a constant dread that they will attempt the life of prominent Chinese against whom they have a grievance. I well remembersthe visit of General Chang Ming-Shu, Governor of Canton ; to His Excellency Sir Cecil dementi two years ago. The entire police force was paraded and the special reserve ordered to stand by. , General Chang came by train, and arrived in Kowloon station, on the mainland. The station was literally surrounded • by detectives, while four police launches escorted him across the harbo.ur. On the Hongkong side he was met by a small army of police, and all roads cleared to permit of his swift passage to Government House. In the outlying parts of the colony, close to the border between the new territories ceded to Great Britain some years, ago, and China proper, the police stations. are veritable fortresses equipped with Lewis guns, Mills bombs, and other military armament. The necessity for these precautions has frequently been shown, when mobs of bandits have crossed the border and attempted to sack farms and villages. These raids were highly popular amongst the bandits, as they are fully aware that the colony police cannot pursue them back into Chinese territory. ' CESSPIT OF THE WORLD. When you have seen the teeming millions in the Chinese cities it seems incredible that' the police can ever, find a criminal. , Yet in Hongkong, Shanghai, and Tientsin the British police are continually bringing criminals to book, often at the cost of their own lives. The Shanghai policeman is the worst off, as this international port is known as one of the cesspits of the world. Armed robberies are of frequent occurrence, and not long ago two British clerks were brutally murdered by bandits, who robbed them of a pay roll in the heart of the city. The police rounded up over twenty well-known criminals within .twenty-four hours of this affair, and a number were later executed after trial in the Chinese courts. . . Kidnapping is rife in Shanghai and has been known in Hongkong. As Hongkong is entirely British, however, the law is more respected, although the police are constantly on the alert to protect some .of the wealthy Chinese who have made their homes there. These potential victims dare not even walk along the waterfront for fear that thev will bo kidnapped. Pirate gangs still have headquarters in Hongkong, and arrange ransom payments in the colony; but during recent years the C.I.D. has made things so hot for them that their efforts are very restricted. No pirate wants to land in Victoria Gaol, and that is the fate of most of them who cross the path of the Hongkong police*