SKILL IN MAH JONG.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20362, 20 July 1934, Page 4

SKILL IN MAH JONG.

Information Against Chinese Dismissed. A case of some interest was heard in the Magistrate's Court at Timaru yesterday. when Willie Wong, a Chinese fruiterer, was charged with keeping a gaming house, and four other Chinese were charged with being found in a gaming house. The case was a sequel to a police raid, when accused were found in the kitchen of the premises playing mail jong. Each man had a pile of money in front of him. The case hinged on determination whether mah jong was a game of chance and thus an unlawful game. A police witness, Percy Chew Lee. described the game, stating that skill was involved in determining what tiles, as the pieces are called, were held by opponents and what they were endeavouring to build up. An exhibition of the game was given in Court by four Chinese. The Magistrate, Mr C. R. Orr-Walker, said the police case rested on whether mah jong was a game of pure chance cr contained a sufficient element of skill to remove it from the category. The legislature had determined certain Chinese games as unlawful, but mah jong was not included. lie had come to the conclusion that there was a substantial amount of skill in the game and the police cases must fail. The information was dismissed.