SHOCKING PIRACY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 851, 26 August 1933, Page 22 (Supplement)

SHOCKING PIRACY.

MURDER IN COLD BLOOD. STEAMSHIP CAPTURED. DEAD BODIES GO OVERBOARD. Shocking details of the blood-curdling murder of the Russian captain and nine officers and men of the Chinese vessel Sheng An off the China coast last month by a gang of foreign pirates, and further details of the fantastic scheme of the buccaneers to take the Sheng An to Valparaiso, which were published by the “Manchuria Daily News.” were confirmed by the Foreign Office at Tokyo. According to the “Manchuria Daily News,” the pirates are: • Taudin, alias Muylan, 53, German; Boston, 25, German; Scbuycr, 30, German; Muyer, 25, German; Gautsehi, 32, Swiss. The victims included Captain B. Vikliam, Russian, killed and thrown overboard, and the Russian mate and liis wife, both of whom were killed aud thrown overboard. The Manchurian paper states:—The pirate leader, a short, stout German aged 55, the very antithesis of romance, adventure and daring, aud his two young confederates admitted to the police that they had planned the daring scheme of carrying the vessel across the Pacific to America where they hoped to sell her and divide the proceeds with the Chinese crew. Inspired by recent tales of Chinese piracy the Europeans plotted the scheme in Tientsin, secured the list of sailings and chose a. native steamship for their daring attack. They boarded her as passengers, and when at sea, bound for Shanghai, coldbloodedly slew the three Russians and Chinese who resisted, according to the story told by the Chinese sailors at a marine court. On June 26 the steamship Sheng An (Prosperity and Peace) of the Hanyang(Great Foreign) Steamship Go., was due to leave Taugku for Shanghai. The live foreigners asked for passage. .They were refused, on the grounds that the vessel was a cargo boat. But they pleaded for a lift to Shanghai, and the captain permitted them to go into the crew’s quarters. Key-Men Savagely Slain. Off Shanghai the five men killed the captain, the chief mate (an engineer) and his pretty wife. They slew the wireless operator and leading Chinese seamen. Then the German pirate leader through one of the younger men who spoke Chinese, harangued the crew and incited them to join with him under the black flag. He unfolded to them his plan of taking the ship to Dairen, provisioning her, and sailing across the Pacific for America, there to sell the steamer and divide the proceeds. The ship had on board petroleum and other cargo valued at 30,(MX) dollars, which the foreigners told the Chinese seamen they could sell for 70.000 dollars to 8(>.0<)0 dollars in America. They would divide the profits, they said. The crew, thoroughly cowed by the armed foreigners, were forced to work at their quarters while the German captain steered the ship towards Dairen, lie apparently having some knowledge of navigation. But in the darkness of the night the ship struck the reefs outside the Hoshigaura promontory, the pirates evidently mistaking the lights on the headland for

Captain Taudin and, his confederates then locked the crew below decks. They lowered a sampan, got aboard and made for shore. But a Chinese police officer, who had noticed the queer actions of the steamship and the sampan, ran to the Japanese police station and gave the alarm. Japanese gendarmes were hurried to the shore. But the foreigners had dispersed. They could be seen running in the darkThe Japanese gave chase, firing as they went. The pirates jumped into a cur, and made towards the city. Telephoned word was passed along, ami when it was traced only one German remained in it. The others had dispersed in the licensed quarter of the town. On July 2 Arthur Gautschi. 31. a Swiss, and Walter Miller, 25, a German, who also took part in the capture of the Shen An were arrested in Dairen. Murder Admitted in Interview. In an interview, Gautschi stated: ‘“Yes, I killed some Chinese,” Gautschi told a reporter. *’T don’t know how many, but 1 killed some of them. We wanted to scare the ship at first. After bumping-off the wireless operator the chief mate came running up the stairs and tried to raise a fuss. The captain, too, tried to interfere. The only thing for us to do was to shoot them.” “Why did you kill so many?” he was asked. “Well . . . he heaved a heavy sigh then shrugged his shoulders and lifted his locked hands as if to say he did not know exactly why and could not give the question an answer. “■How long did it take for you to capture the ship?” “Oh, we must have fought them off for about five or ten minutes,” lie said. “We then immediately started to throw the men overboard,” he continued. “We. had no use for corpses. The rest of the Chinese were terribly scared. It wasn’t so hard to handle them. The sailors and firemen were immediately put to work. Captain Taudin went to the bridge and the ship was turned about. We remained on deck to see that the Chinese stayed at their tasks. Ship Given New Name. “One of the first things wo did was to rename the ship and repaint it the Whali. Xobody knows what the word means except the captain. It was his idea.” Gautschi denied that they had crowded a number of Chinese into a small room and left them there to go without food, water or elbow space for three days. “We didn’t lock anybody up,” he said. “They were all put to their tasks, and were locked up only when we decided to leave the ship after it had grounded.” Gautschi explained that it was true they had planned to capture a ship to take to Valparaiso to sell, both ship and cargo. They had figured it would take them approximately 45 days to cross the Pacific ami decided that Dairen would be about the best place to seek provisions for the voyage. They had intended to anchor somewhere close to the breakers off Hoshigaura and to land for provisions. Their Plans in America. “What afterf you sold your ship? How were you going to get back and what was to become of the Chinese?” “We were going to get off there,” was the quick answer. “We were going to let the Chinese off. too.” “Whatever made you people do such a thing?” lie was asked. “Hard times!” was his only answer. •‘Of course,” lie continued, to answer another question, “we thought the plan would work, otherwise we would not have undertaken it. We were willing te take all risks because we were all hard up. Wc talked the plan over since last