PAK-A-PU.

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 23 May 1889, Page 3 (Supplement)

PAK-A-PU.

CONVICTIONS AGAINST CHINESE.

For a loug time past it has been notorious that a great deal of gambling has gone on in the Chinese quarters of the city. In Stafford street there are two gambling dens, and in Walker street two more ; while even George street is not free from the evil. The gambling is not confined solely to Chinese, for Europeans -men, and even women— havebeen drawn luto the maelstrom from time to time. The games played are fan-tan, sing-ti-100, and pak-a-pu. Fantan is played with the small brass counters, sing-tie-loo with a bowl and small dice, aud pak-a-pu Is a ticket lottery. The chances are greatly in favour of the " bankers "or men who control the game. This is more particularly the case with pak-a-pu, in which the chances must be hundreds to one in favour of the " banker." Theexistenceof these dens Jias been known, to the police for a long time past, but it has been a -very difficult matter to secure convictions, owing to the secrecy with which the proceedings have generally besn conducted. The "Heathen Chinee " is always very 'cute # in all matters concerning, games of chance, especially when they are forbidden by the ' laws of the country in which he resides. In Dunedin he has even gone the length of holding the drawings of the pak-a-pu lottery in private. The ticket-holders meet at a store and appoint an ageqt, but they themselves remain discreetly in the background. At one time the drawings used to take place publicly, and in Melbourne at .the present time they a--e still publicly drawn. A raid or two by the police, however, has made the Dunedin Celestials more cunning than their Victorian brethren, and fora long time they have managed to evade the clutches of the law. On Wednesday last, however, the detectives managed to run their men to earth, and four of their number figured in the Police Court on Friday to answer charge* preferred against them by the police. The cases first called were against Yee Nuie and Yee Fook. They were charged with being unlawfully the keepers of a certain gaming house in Stafford street.

Detective Henderson conducted the prosecution ; aud Mr F. Chapman appeared on behalf of the accused.

L Chief-detective Henderson, being sworn, eaid that about 2.45 p m. on Wednesday, in company v,ith Detectives Walker and M'Grafch, Sergeant Geerin and Constable Hanson, by virtue of a search warrant under the Gaming and Lotteries Act, he entered the house of the accused in No. 19 Stafford street, ne^t to Kempthorne, Proßser's. On eutoring he Baw the accused, Yee Nuie, standing at the fireplace in the ahop along with two pther Chinamen. Witness walked towards the back of the premises and told him to atop. He eaid, '• What you want ?" Witness replied that he had a warrant to search his place. This accused went into the bedroom where YeePookwas, sayjng, "Me only manager for Mcc Wah." The latter name was over the door.

Mr Chapman said Mcc Wah was dead. His executors carried on the business.

Detective Henderßon said that was so. He continued, that he went up the stairß with Sergeant Geerin and entered a room. There was one small window in it looking out into the back yard. The board produced was hanging on the wall. They also found four baains, a jar, two bread knives, pots of ink or dye, with brushes, blank' papers, blocks of iron and lead for weights, a number of stamps for stamping Chinesecharacters, differentcolouredinks, and bundles of printed tickets for pak-a-pu. Witness then gave a description of thegame of pak-a-pu. Pak-a-pu tickets like the one produced could be bought in town for 6d or Is, and purchasers were allowed to mark off 10 numbers on the ticket. If the winner " struck " the 10 tickets he would get £80 fer his 6d from the bank. Witness added that he found packets of tickets buou as the ones pasted on the board in the house. , To Mr Chapman : Witness said the shop was the one that Mcc Wah used to have. Anyone could walk in. There were goods in the shop. He knew that Mcc Wah died some months ago, and, that someone was 'carrying -on business there. The jar produced and the basins were ordinary ones, aud could be used for other purposes. The brushes were used for any kind of writing. He did not remember haviug seen the stamps produced used for receipting accounts. The Btamps and the ink pad were found in a drawer. He did not know the characters on the tickets. He could not read Chinese. The tickets were similar to ones he had seen used for pak-a-pu, and similar to ones he had used himself. He could not say that the board could not be used for other purposes besides pak-a-pu. Sergeant Geerin gave corroborative evidence. Mr Chapman argued at length that no case had been made out. It wquld" be an extraordinary thing that merely because two men had admitted that tney were managers of a business carried on in this house that they should be deemed guilty of an offence, because that offence might have been carried *n by means of instruments found in another part of the house, especially as there were other persons in the house not engaged in any particular' pursuit. He pointed out that the jars, &0., were articles that could be used for ordinary purposes. As, for the tickets, he was told that they contained a

'series of moral maxims 1 or axioms— precepSs'aticf texts. There was nothing to bring the case within any clause that would justify a conviction upon the slender evidence before the court. •, _ > ,? . ' His Worship held that a very strong case had been made out. ; Mr Chapman said he would call evidence to show 1 that the whole thing was a misapprehension. The implements produced might be uted for the game, but these particular men did not use them. One of ; the accused was a man who foretold fortunes, or something of the kind. He was also a doctor, and according to the Chinese custom a doctor and a - magioian ran pretty close together. Indeed he was not sure that they did .not, according to European custom. He called

Ah Kee, who, having been sworn by blowing out a match, said he was a Chinese doctor, fortune teller, and professional writer. All the articles produced belonged to his room— the writing place. The knives were used for cutting cake and papers. . ■ Tbe witness was here cautioned by hio Worship not to give false evidence on pain of punishment. Witneßß continued that the board was used for < fortune telling, and anyone in' want bf work who wanted to go elsewhere or buy goods elsewhere was told to' plcfca letter from the hoard. His fate was determined according to the letter chosen, Some days no one came; on other days two or three would come, and they gave him a shilling or two or thrpe shillings. The writing was about heaven and earth, sun and moon, and mountains and sea. All the papers in the bundle produced contained the same writing. There was nothing about any; game in them. The small papers were used for marking goods, and some for fortune telling. To Detective Henderson: He could read Chinese well. The name on the centre of the tickets was Kirn Hoy Chung. This name was'the name which he called himself as a fortune teller. He could not say exactly if the tickets were the same as those used for pak-a-pu. They might be used for a school board. He knew the game of pak-a-pu, but he did not know who played it. He had not been in the roomß where pak a-pu was played. If they came at 3 o'clock in the afternoon they would not catch him drawing a lottery in the house. He did not knqw that the agents came from the shops every day to take part in the lottery. He had been telling fortunes for 32 years -ever since he came out to the colony, lie had been telling fortunes .in the present house for four months.

Yee Nuie. one of the defendants, also gave evidence.. He had nothing to do with the gaming. Yee Fook said he carried on Mcc Wah's business with Yee Nuie. He had nothing to do with the articles produced. He did not know the game of pak-a-pu, and he had never bought tickets. , His Worship said there was a great deal of evidence for the defence that he did not believe in atj all. Upon the whole he was satisfied that the case had been proved. The accused would be convicted and fined £20 each, in default distress, and in default of that three months' imprisonment with hard labour. Mr Chapman asked his Worship to Btate a case. His Worship said 'there were certain preliminaries before the case was stated.

Detective Henderson said he hadno wish to press the other charges. Having obtained this conviction, he would ask that they be withdrawn. The other accused were both sitting by the fire in the shop when arrested. The cases were accordingly withdrawn by consent.

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