A VERDICT OF WILFUL MURDER TAPANUI, August 25.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 34

A VERDICT OF WILFUL MURDER TAPANUI, August 25.

t Apart trom what has been disclosed in evidence during the three occasions on which the Coroner's Court has sat very little can be said concerning the shooting and burning of the Chinaman Ham Sing Tone He appears to have been generally regarded as a man worth about a couple of hundred pounds, and as nothing is held in his name by local banks, the assumption is that he) kept his money in the house in which he resided. So far only £70 or £80 has been discovered there, so that there is a substantialsum 6till unaccounted for. From the evidence given to-day it would appear that Sing Tong habitually carried a roll of notes, generally about £10, about with iiim, and this sum it would have been thought would have been found in the pockets of his clothing. Search has, however) failed to discover any money in that direction, and it seems probable that it has been taken by his visitors of Monday night. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, the only conclusion possible appears to be that there has been foul play, and premeditated foul play at that. Various theories are advanced as an explanation of the old man's shocking death, but they are anlj theories after ail. It seems more than probable, however, that he was first attacked with the bottle, and that notwithstanding the heavy blow he received on the head, a blow that was sufficient to break the bottle, he resisted the attempt at robbery, and caused his assailants to use a more deadly weapon. Then would come a desire to hide all traces of the crime, and the old device of fire may, and very probably did, suggest itself with lightning rapidity to tho mind of the perpetrator of the deed. It is no stretch of imagination to conceive of fchd body being placed in a sitting, posture on the bed and an effective method of firing the place being sought for. The lamp containing kerosene would afford the means, and the_ supposed explosion of the | lamp .might -very well be eefc aside in favour j of the idea that it was deliberately broken and the kerosene thrown upon the bedclothes near the body, and then fired. It is singular that if the , lamp burst the globe jshoflld have been found lying on the bed uninjured. The inhuman wretch guilty of the atrocity would have to work speedily. He would realise that with houses close at .hand *t-ho ~ shot would be heard, and that every- moment he remained there was fraught with peril to himself. That would be quite sufficient to explain away the money which was readily found not being token. There was not time to make even a hasty search. The finding of the body on the floor is not difficult to account for either. When it ia remembered that the rigidity that follows death had not set in, it would be natural the body should not, after the assassin had left, keep its position on the bed, but "that it should sway forward, fall to the floor, and be found as it was with feet to the bed and head away from it. The affair looks as if premeditated from the fact that it is not usual for peaceably-dis-posed persons to carry firearms about with them, and there can be no question but that -wiioeve-r "visi-fceel -fcKe old naan.%s home ihafc nighb went armed and prepared for any emergency. This is, of course, merely a theory, but it certainly appears to be a very reasonable one. The police are still investigating the matter, but from the remarks of Inspector O'Brien at the <flose of the inquest, which resulted in a verdict of wilful murder against soni© person or persons ■unknown, they do not appear to have got any strong clue as to the identity of whoever committed the atrocious act. It may be, however, that they know more than they osre to disclose, as they would not, for obvious reasons, spoil any cfiance they have of bringing the offender to book by giving publicity to matters that they feel they are in duty bound to keep closely to themselves if they wish to succeed in their quest. THE INQUEST CONTINUED. The inquest touching the death of Ham Sing Tong-, who was ' found dead in his house on the outskirts of the township on. Tuesday morning, was resumed on Friday afternoon before Mr W. Quin, J.P. (coroner), and a jury of six, o? whom Mr John MaoFaflane w-as foreman. Inspector O'Brien watched the proceedings on behalf of the police. Dr Robertson, Archibald 1 Currie. Charles Robert Aburn, David Dackers, Sarah Dackers, and Constable Cowan gave evidence, after which Inspector O'Brien said he bad no other witnesses to call, and he did not know of any other persons who could throw any light upon the cause of death, or, at anyrate, show by whom death was caused. Several pcrbons had been interviewed so. far, but nothing had been elicited which would tend to indicate the person by whom death was caused. That being so, he did nol know that any good purpose could be served by prolonging the inquest. The inquiry might, however, go on all the same. There appeared to be little doubt to his mind as to the cause of death, but the difficult}' now was by whom that death had been caused, and he did not know that ho could, either in tho present or the near future, enlighten tho jury upon that point. Of course it was entirely a matter for the coroner and the jury to say whether the inquiry should be further adjourned. Any evidence that might be discovered could be used before another iribunal; and even if it was used in the coroner's court, it would have to be repeated before that other tribunal before anything effective could be done. The Coroner said the jury had arrived at such a stage now that unless members of it desired any further inquiry made or further evidence called they would probably terminate tha proceedings. The police acting in tho matter appeared to be thoroughly satisfied, because Inspector O'Brien had said he did not know that any good lnirnofle w>xO4 J^ sen cd l^i..

1 proceeding further. Tho juQ-'s remaining j duty, as far as he could see, unless they required further evidence, was to arrive at a verdict. There was very little doubt as to how the unfortunate man had met his death, and he hoped some solution of the affair would be arrived at. However, as far as the jury's duties were concerned, they had simply to arrive at a verdict. The Jury then consulted together very briefly, and returned a verdict — " That Ham Sing Tong had been wilfully murderc-l by some persrn or persons unknown." The Coroner then thanked the jury for tho attention it had given to the case, and complimented the police on the way they had forwarded the inquiry. He hoped tbe charge would be sheeted home to the guilty party. No doubt a serious crime had boen committed. So far as the records of the court went, it was nearly 40 years since there had been a similar case, and then the police had not succeeded in sheeting the charge home.