HELD FOR RANSOM.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 July 1924, Page 10

HELD FOR RANSOM.

. KIDNAPPERS IN CHINA. BANDITS’ “KINDLY WAY” V BIG TRADE IN CAPTIVES. t That there are beggars’ guilds, thieves’ guilds, and kidnappers’ guild* in Hongkong, as in other cities in China, is commonly accepted, declares the Peking correspondent of the Times. Some particulars that have been revealed of the modus operandi of kidnappers indicate a surprisingly well co-ordinated business. There is a trade in captives, in which the unfortunates figure as less than cattle. “Sum” is the Chinese slang term for a prisoner held for ransom. The word means, literally, heart, but expresses body and soul. “Lai sum” (to lead the body away) is to kidnap. Those who in their time have been “sums” must number thousands; abduction is rife in China, and has been rife since ordered government cease to exist. Every piracy, every raid by bandits has yielded a batch of “sums” to be carried away against redemption. Some have been rescued; some have been recovered with horrible memories of torture seen and experienced; some Jiave been duly murdered; and others have merely languished and died. Not many weeks ago a sorter employed in the Canton Post Office brought his stamp down on a small parcel that seemed to contain a fragment of leather. Curious, he decided to deliver it himself, and watched while the addressee opened it. It was a human ear for the father of a boy who had been abducted, just to remind him that the gang meant business. Sometimes it is a finger that is received. I n extreme cases, roasted bodies have been delivered to difficult parents, in trays such as used for coo.'cing pigs. In ways that are dark the Chinese kidnapper is devilishly ingenious with his tortures. “A SKINNY OLD PIG.” Cannibalism has been alleged, as the result of discoveries of portions uf children’s bodies in bandits’ caves, but the proof is 'not definite. But -all is grist that comes to the kidnapper’s mill. Not far from Hongkong recently an old woman was captured. She pleaded her poverty, her age, and her general worthlessness: but the bandit chief had a fine sense of humour. “A skinny old pig.” he said in effect, “and they shall ransom you as pork.” Se he had her weighed and demanded for her the market price of meat. <( Negotiations for the release of a “sum ’ are always a protracted business. Bargaining enters here, as in all business in China. There comes to the distressed relatives a message from a wretched middleman fixing a secret appointment and naming an amount. The relatives must first sweeten this parasite with gifts and a negotiation fee. The family appoints an agent, sine?, neither side wishes to appear in th? open, and the barter then proceeds. As long as negotiations continue, the captive is safe from death, if not from occasional torture. When the relatives, miserly or impatient, break off relations, 'however, a crisis arises. If is then that the captive’s ear or finger ar toe ? may come along. Before conversations can be resumed the middleman must be sweetened again, so the expenditure may be unending. CASH BEFORE DELIVERY. Negotiation is rendered more difficult by the existence of a market in which unhappy “sums” are bought, speculatively. from one bandit gang by another. Bandits with small organisation and insecure hiding-places dispose of their prisoners to *more firmly established concerns. There are bandit capitalists and “sum” dealers in a wholesale way of trade. One captive in his time may travel far and change prisons frequently, and if hie immediate owner decides ito sell od the eve of conconclusion of negotiations, the disappointed relatives have to go through the sorry business all over again, a higher price being demanded. Cash before delivery is the rule, and the bearer of the silver is known by the fanciful title of “Man who Shoulder* the Silvei Pole.” In spite of police vigilance, isolated cases of abduction still occur in Hongkong and occasionally figure in criminal proceedings. In not a few instances on the rivers foreigners have been taken; but they are comparatively for tunate. Where only Chinese are concerned, no official outcry is raised; with no Government to help them, they ran som themselves as best they can. Knowing the risks, those who have come to Hongkong to live, venture out of the colony again with the greatest caution.