GAMING ACT BREACHES

Northern Advocate, 19 July 1933, Page 2

GAMING ACT BREACHES

GROUP OF CHINESE PENALISED. TROUBLE WITH INTERPRETERS. TWO RELEASED FROM DUTY. (Special to "Northern Advocate,") CHRISTCHURCH, Tuesday. During the hearing iof gaming charges against 27 Chinese yesterday, an unusual development occurred When the magistrate, Mr E. D. Mosley, announced he was not satisfied with the interpreter, Percy Chew Lee, and that another interpreter would have to ba secured. He therefore adjourned the case. When the hearing was resumed this morning, a new interpreter, W. Wah, a Canterbury College student, was present, but he said:. "Frankly, I would rather go to prison than interpret oh this occasion." .Senior-Sergeant Fox said it had come to his knowledge that the Chinese concerned in the case hftd shown hostility to a number of their own countrymen, apparently because o'f the erroneous idea that they had given information to the police. There had actually been a threat of violenco. That was a rather ugly attitude to

take up. The magistrate, addressing the accused, said: "You can take it from me that any threat, from European or Chinese will reap its consequences. British law, which grinds slowly, will grind that person." Wah was still unwilling to act as interpreter. He denied that there had been hostility shown him, but said there were circumstances, he did not wish to disclose. It was not fear. Wah added that Chew Lee was a competent interpreter.

The Magistrate: "I was not satisfied with him yesterday.' * The case proceeded while an endeavour wns made to secure another interpreter.

Later another interpreter, named Chari, was secured, and Wah was released from duty. The hearing then proceeded normally.

The principal accused, Yee Kwong, aged 63, a gardener, was charged with permitting premises in Madras Street to be used as a gaming house and with having prepared opium in his possession. Ah Sang, aged 64, gardener, was charged with assisting Kwong, and 25 other Chinese were charged with being found without lawful excuse in a gaming house today.

Kwong denied that people coming to the house paid him anything to play fantan or dominoes. He did hot know fantan was illegal in New Zealand. Another Chinese said the place was merely a club, for which subscriptions were paid. All Convicted. Convictions were recorded against all the 27 Chinese charged. Yee Kwong was fined £2O and costs for. permitting the premises to be used as a common gaming-house. One Chinese was fined £2 for being unlawfully in a common gaming-house, and the others, on a similar charge, were eaeh fined £l. When Kwong offered to give up the opium-smoking utensils to be destroyed the charges relating to opium were withdrawn. The magistrate said that the evidence proved that dominoes were being played for money. It was not for him, he continued, to say anything about the difference between one method of gambling and another. His duty was to administer the law as made by the Legislature.