CHINESE LAUNDRY RAIDED

Otago Witness, Issue 3618, 17 July 1923, Page 29

CHINESE LAUNDRY RAIDED

OYER THIRTY ARRESTS. A CLEVER GANG. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WANGANUI, July 9. The Chinese community were greatly perturbed last night owing to a police raid which took j3la.ee on a Chinese laundry occupied by Joe Yin Dick and others. On Saturday and Sunday evenings this laundry ha g lately become a rendezvous for Easterners, and the police suspected that the premises were used for something else bej sides being merely a meeting place. At last week-end. however, there wag a big gathering of Chinese. An explanation was that they had assembled on account of the death last week of a well-known and highlyrespected Chinaman. Many mourners came from ether jilaces to attend the funeral on Sunday night. When Detective Cameron and Constable Wilson were almost across the floor of the building they were seen by the old cook, who gave tne alarm immediately. There W'as a general scramble at various tables, and each Chinaman grabbed the money in front of him. Some were playing fan tan and others dominoes. All that remained on the table for the po’ice were some stray coins which even the nimble fingers of a j Chinaman could net pick up in a hurry. I The amounts left on the three tables in j small change were 275, 7s Pd, and 3s 9d. The senior-sergeant noticed one aged dis- ! ciple of Confucius paying particular oftenj tion to his boots, and when they were rej moved subsequently it was found that he | had slipped 25s in small coins into these, j When the heads were counted there were over 30. and tile small army was marched in procession to the courthouse. Just as iliev were about to shirt a constable noticed one Chinaman frying to burrow his way Under a heap of collars and dirty clothes in the corner. The constable hauled him j out and made him take his place in the | general parade to headquarters. Some were I able to pay £5 bail, but one old man i sat by the tire in the pc’ice station, very j disconsolate. ITis wrinkled face, however, j lit up with a beaming Celestial smile when j the lady proprietress of a local boarding- ! house entered the station and said. “I want j (o bail cut John.” The lady explained that 1 John was the cook, and as it had every i appearance cf being a frosty morning the | police did not want to place the projn-ietress I or the boarders at a disadvantage. After exploiting the eompanv if was found that ! 15 were unfinancial and had to be aecommoI dated for the night. | The prosecutions followed this morning. | Detective Cameron stated that the premises j we'-e owned by the Chronicle Company and ! rented to Joe Yin Dick for laundry pur- ; poses. Gambling was suspected for some | time past, but owing to the system of I alarm by scouts the offence could not be ‘ prevail. Last night’s raid, however, rej suited in plenty of evidence being adduced. | Although the Chinamen gambled only j among themselves many of them were wastj ing their money, and their creditors were j going short. Detective Cameron said fan I tan was played, also dominoes, which was j just as good a gambling game as fan tan ! the way the Chinese played it. | A nlea for leniency was made, but the ! magistrate said that legislature treated the ! matter seriously, as shown by the maximum l line of £2O. Chinamen must conform to I the law. For allowing the premises to | be used as a gambling house Joe Yin Dick | was fined £IOO and costs, and the others i were fined £1- the aggregate reiurn to the ! State from those dealt with in bulk being | £3O 3s 6.1 j The playing equipment was ordered to be | destroyed. A sum o-f 38s made up bv I various small coins was also seized bv the I police from a table, and after some diseusj sion as to what should become of this money I the magistrate orde~“d that, it should lie returned to the pioprietor, seeing that monetary fines had been imposed.