EXECUTION OF A SPY

Grey River Argus, 7 October 1914, Page 2

EXECUTION OF A SPY

AN INCIDENT AT COLOMBO. The latest Australian papers contain particulars of the execution of a Cinga lese wireless operator at Colombo for having acted m league with a German spy. Mention of the matter was made a few days ago. When the declaration of war was made at Colombo a German, who had . been carrying on business there for five, or six years an whose interests were considerable, was. asked to take the. oath of neutral itv. He was thought to be a reputable citizen, and numbered among his friends the Governor and many high officials. He, .however, declined the offer, saying that he would not forsake the Fatherland in' time of trouble by declaring neutrality. ' He asked permission to leave the Island 'by a Dutch rnailpacket for Batavia, and he was permitted to do so. Five or six hours after the packet had left port, wireless operators— tney are educated Cingalese — -changred shifts. When the relieving man came on duty he asked his comrade wliat he had been sending. His ' reply was: :"I have not ben sending anything 1 ." "Oh" said the other, "but I heard the last part of the message.' The operator, after some conversation, confessed that he had been given so many rupees by the German merchant, had just left on the Dutch packet to send messages to German ships in the vicinity, 1 warn ing them -not vo touch at Colombo, but to seek .a neutral port. In consequence, several German vessels which were due at Colombo failed to enter an appearance. The' matter was reported "to the authorities by tbe second >-rator. and a court-martial was hek? nnd the operator who had accepted the bribe was shot. The authorities then ordered a search of the bungalow which had been occupied by the Ger man merchant. There .a .number of compromising docqmems were found, including sketches', of the forts at Ceylon and other forts. Indeed, it was stated that sufficient evidence was found to justify the conclusion that the merchant had been acting as a German spy during the whole period of his residence on the island. An attempt was made to recall the packet by wireless messages, but without success, and when the Mobltaai left port I other steps were being taken to secure the arrest of the merchant spy.