CHINESE PIRATES

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 October 1928, Page 5

CHINESE PIRATES

CAPTURE BRITISH SHIP OFFICERS KILLED & WOUNDED (Australian Press Association.) (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) SHANGHAI, September 29. Wirelessing from Honghai Bay, the British coaster “Anking” reports that it was pirated en route from Singapore to Swatow on September 26. The chief officer, David Clifford Jones and the chiqf engineer, Harry Thomson, were killed, and C. C. Plunkett Cole, the captain, was seriously wounded. A Chinese quartermaster was killed. Details are lacking.

The pirates are believed to have boarded the ship at Shanghai.

HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING.

(Received October 1, 11 a.m.) SHANGHAI, September 30.

Details of the Nanking piracy show that forty pirates were concealed among fourteen hundred deck passengers, on the captured ship. They were desperately resisted by the foreign officers and engineers, but these were outnumbered and ruthlessly shot. The fight occurred at seven in the evening of September 26, when the officers were dining. A hand-to-hand struggle took place on the deck, the pirates finally securing possession of the vessel. They seized the armoury and threw the bodies of the murdered officers overboard. They kept the officer, Bennett,, on the bridge for 54 hours navigating the vessel, and carefully avoiding ;the notorious pirate stronghold, Bias Bay, which is now patrolled by foreign warships. The vessel entered Honghai Bay, where the ship was systematically looted. Eighty thousand dollars worth of cargo was carried off in the ship’s boats, th,e crew being compelled to assist. Seven Chinese were kidnapped for ransom.

CAPTURED MISSIONARY.

WELLINGTON, September 29.

J. F. V. Tobin, brother of Miss Tobin who was captured a few days ago by Chinese bandits, has received the ■ following cabled message from Hong Kong to-day: Miss Tobin and Mr Watkins were proceeding to Wuchow Kweilin, when they were attacked. Watkins was released and Miss Tobin was held. Bishop Helden is negotiating, and Watkins is proceeding to Kweilin.