CHINAMAN ASSAULTED

Evening Star, Issue 23110, 9 November 1938, Page 7

CHINAMAN ASSAULTED

" DUST-UP ” OVER A BUNCH OF SPINACH "WHO WAS THIS MYSTERY MAH?" An unknown man, a bunch of spinach, a few Chinamen, and three *• cobbers ” who were apparently out for trouble, formed the cast in a drama —or, as the accused put it, “ a dustup ” —in Rattray street on Saturday night. The result of the “ dust-ujj ” was the appearance in the Police Court this morning of Leslie Towns, aged 24, on a charge of assaulting Kew On. The magistrate’s curiosity regarding the identity of the “ mystery man ” remained unsatisfied, but His Worship had no doubts as to accused’s guilt, and sentenced him to a month’s imprisonment with hard labour. Joe Sutherland, who was with accused and two others at the time, gave evidence. Witness understood that it was “ an unknown man ” who took the spinach, and wdien the tussle occurred witness ' “ pulled his cobber away ” from the Chinaman and started to wrestle with him. Another Chinaman came out with a manuka stick and hit Towns on' the arm, and Towns struck the Chinaman. Detective Brown, who had interviewed accused the next morning, said that Towns had. blood on his hands, which he explained as the result of “ a dust-up with a Chinaman.” Accused had described the movements of Sutherland, himself, and another prior to the occurrence. They had met with an unknown man who was rather drunk, and as they were all passing the laundry in Rattray street a Chinaman rushed out and took hold of the unknown man. Accused then hit the Chinaman. To accused: It was while witness was interviewing accused on another matter on Saturday night that the latter had explained the blood on his hands by saying, “ I had a dust-up with a Chinaman and he hit me on the arm with a stick.” Accused, in evidence, also described how the Chinaman had rushed out and grabbed the unknown! man, whom the Chinaman had tried to drag into the laundry. The Chinaman was jabbering and the unknown man was terrified. The magistrate (Mr J. R. Bartholomew) : What! Terrified of that little Chinaman when he had three companions P _ . Accused: I would be terrified if a Chinaman jumped on my back. “ You would be!” Accused, continuing, said that when he tried to separate the two a Chinaman had struck at him with a stick. Accused had put his hands up and got the blow across the _ wrist. _ Accused had seen the spinach in the right-hand pocket of the unknown man. The Magistrate: Who is this mystery man? Accused replied that he did not know. They had just “ picked him up,” Both he and accused “ had a few in.” The Magistrate: So you constituted yourself your brother’s keeper? I’d do the same for any friend,” said accused. •‘A friend?” queried the magistrate, “ when you had never met him before?” “ Accused admits having struck the Chinaman,” said His Worship, “ and the story told about it having been in self-defence is, on the face of it, ridiculous. He will be convicted.”