BETTER TREATED

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25343, 26 October 1945, Page 9

BETTER TREATED

FBISONEBS IN MUKDEN

"LESS AGGRESSIVE HATE" Prisoners of the Japanese seemed to he better treated in the carnps in Manchuria and Korea than those located elsewhere, said Lieutenant A. L. M. Greig, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, who returned to Auckland yesterday. He arrived in New Zealand in the liner Andes.

Lieutenant Greig. who is the son of | Mrs R. Wooton, of Otahuhu, was a ] Government surveyor in Malaya from 1937. He joined the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force and was cap- . lured when Singapore fell to the Japan- • ese. In August. 1942. he was taken to Korea and after six weeks in Kei.io he was transferred to Mukden, in Man.churia. "There were about 1400 Americans ' and 100 British in the camp at Mukden," said Lieutenant Greig. "The temporary camp was rather rugged, bui the permanent camp, which we moved into in July, 1943. was quite respectable. No Real Atrocities "It seems that the prisoners in Manchuria and Korea had a better run than those located elsewhere," he said. "1 do not know the reason, except that we were probably just lucky. The better treatment did not mean that the Japanese did more for us, but they did less against us than was the case with prisoners in other places. 'I here was less aggressive hate and there were no real atrocities. Until the final three months we were not seriously short of food." J lieutenant Greig was employed for a while in a factory producing machine tools and later in a factory making electric cranes. There were few officers among the prisoners, and they did not have to do any actual work in the factories. They were there in a supervisory capacity. Ghine.se Money Store* "After the liberation of the prisoners, the Chinese, "who had been under Japanese domination for a long time, produced vast sums of money from all sorts of places," said Lieutenant Greig. "In spite of the Japanese, it seems that they had plenty 'salted away in the locker' and when they brought it out they bought anything they could in the wav of old clothes or other material. They offered us ridiculously high prices." American paratroops landed at Mukden on August 16 and a few days later the Russians arrived and announced the official liberation of the prisoners. They disarmed the garrison, the Japanese submitting peacefully. Lieutenant Greig's journey to New Zealand involved several methods ot transport. He travelled hv railway to Dairen and by an American hospital ship to Okinawa. From there he flew to Manila and went in the aircrail<4rrier Formidable to Sydney, joining the Andes at Melbourne.

WHARF ACCIDENT COMPENSATION ISSUE SECOND CLAIM MADE A claim for additional compensation for injury arising from a wharf accident was brought before Mr Justice Ongley in the Compensation Court yesterday by a timekeeper, Alfred Joseph Smith (Air Finlav), against his employer, the Union Steam Ship Co. oi New Zealand, Ltd. (Mr Hamer). On March 20 last, while engaged at his work, plaintiff was struck on the right leg by a piece of timber and was incapacitated for work. His weekly wage wag not less than £9 and he received compensation at the rate of £4 10s a week until on May 15 the Compensation Court made a consent order terminating these payments as from Mav 9.

Plaintiff now claimed that on the date of that order he believed the leg had so improved that he was able to resume work, but very shortly afterward he developed sciatica, which further incapacitated him until August 9. For this further period he claimed £SS 10s compensation. The defendant compauv claimed that on May 15 plaintiff had completely recovered from bis injury, arid further said that the order made by the-Court terminated the liability of the defendant to pay compensation under the Workers Compensation Act in respect of this accident. Mr Finlay said that medical evidence would show that after the Court terminated payments a fresh disability arose and that gave rise to this claim. He submitted that the present claim wag not estopped by virtue of the judgment that had been given in the same cause.

In answer to Mr Hamer, plaintiff said he had had compensation before on several occasions for minor injuries in the course of his H 8 years work as a watersider. He questioned the accuracy of figures produced by Mr Hamer to show that for ten years before 1938 the compensation he received was 31.9 per cent of his total income. "There are approximately 50 Smiths on the waterfront," said plaintiff, "and two of them have the same initials as mine." He also denied that since 1938 there were eight occasions on which he had received compensation for his right knee. After medical evidence had been heard, decision was reserved. THEFTS FROM HOUSES CHARGES AGAINST WOMAN A domestic, Lucy Theresa Abraham, aged 26 (Mr Aekins), pleaded guilty before Messrs C. Phillips and K. H. Melvin, J.P.'s, yesterday to six charges of breaking and entering dwellings and theft of property and money of a total value of £46. Accused was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. MOTORIST FOR TRIAL ACCIDENT AT DEVONPORT A sequel to an accident in Victoria Kond, Devonport, during the victory celebrations on August 15, was the appearance before Mr F. H. Levien, S.M., yesterday, of a motorist, Patrick Felix Scully, clerk, on charges of failing to render all practicable assistance to Noel Francis O'Leary, who had been injured, failing to ascertain whether he had injured O'Leary and failing to stop. Sub-Inspector Henderson prosecuted. Accused, who was represented by Mr Goldwater, pleaded not guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial.