Yang Zen-ling, a coolie and electrician, and Sung Szeling, a Hankow Road shopkeeper, were charg: with having been concerned together in tapping an electric wire in Ching Fok Chang Theatre, Hupeh Road, and stealing the current therefrom, on the 26th instant. The first-named defendant was also charged with having fran-dolently obtained the sum of $19 from the sevend defendant, by falsely re-resenting himself to be an employee of the Municipal Electrical Department.
Det, Sgt. Cruickshank stated the facts of the case, from which it appeared that theatre at the june-toa of Hpeh and Hankow Rows was] supplied with electric light from the Municipal Electrical Department and the second defendant had a shop in Hankow Road adjoining the theatre. Anxious to improve the lighting commodation of his store, the Han-Road shopkeeper employed the first defer it, who was both a coolie and eetrician at the theatre, to fix up two electric lnnaps in the back rooms of the shop. The first defendant did so by tapping the main wire which supplied the theatre with electric light; and also, representing himself to be an employee of the Shanghai Municipal Electrical Tepartiment, presented a bill for Tls. 14, bearing the heading of the Electrical Department, which the Ha Read shopkeeper paid. Op receipt of his bill for Light for October, the proprietor of the Hupeh Road Theatre found that it was more than double the Will for November and naturally nade complaint, About the same time it came tw the ears of the trical Department that electric light wax in use at the shop in Hankow Road adio the theatre, Investigations were made and when the Hanks shop was fit visited the proprietor denied that used electric light at all. A second bit and search resulted in the discovery of two electric lights in of ie shop and f showed that the current for these lights lal been tapped from the main wire supplying the theatre.
The H.-C. Hherad and S. C. sentenced to six weeks' and the proprietor of t imprisonment, Hankow Road proprietor in compensa amount he had overlaid current supplied to his theatre.
The decision appeared to be unsatisfactory to all concerned with the possible exception ut the prisoner.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.