'A desperado named so Ching-ling was charged with being concerned with others not in custody in extorting from a complainant the sum of $48 by means of {hreats in the Muirhead Road on the 31st May, 1903; also with extorting in a similar manner the sum of $8 from a complainant in the Kwengming Road on the 6th April, 1904, and the sum of $23.40 from another complainant in Li Hongkew on the lith ultimo; further, with being concerned with others already charged, in forcibly taking a complainant into the country and there wilfully and maliciously gouging out his eyes, thereby cousin him grievous bodily harm, on the 28t April, 1903.
Inspector Bourke said that the prisoner was one of a gang of desperadoes who had long boon a terror to the natives and were connected with many cases extortion and atrocities similar to the present charge. The Court would re-Tnember that about the middle of last several men were charged with Being concerned together in the abominable crime, the subject of the last-montioned charge. The then brought before the Court were severely punished. Mwo of them had each gouged out an eye, and since then another member of the gang had been convicted for assisting there. the complainant's story had been thoroughly consistent: it had never varied at all since the first charge. He had gis the names and a correct P description of the principal offenders. When the present prisoner was arrested the complainant accurately described him, giving his height correctly, correct description of his features, complexion, ote., and his name. Although blind, he identified the prisoner from amongst a number of other Chinese by the sound of his voice, and when he w allowed to pass his hands over the prisoner's face he at once said he was the man. Hesaid thatthe prisoner was the man who gagged him with grass while his eyes wore being gouged out. There were more than twenty charges of extortion against the prisoner, but up till the present only three complainants had come forward to give evidence, the others being afraid of the rest of the gang still at large. Since the prisoner's arrest however, more complainants had come forward, some of whom were now present in Court.
Detective-Sergeant Vaughan gave evidence of arresting the prisoner and finding a murderous-looking knife con-vealed in his possession. ~The blind complainant, whos had been gouged out, also gave and described to the Court how he identified the prisoner, as had been described by Inspector Bourke. The other complainants also came forward and gave Evidence as to the acts of extortion, one man describing how he had been seized by the prisoner and seven or eight other Two boatmen were charged with being in unlawful possession of five forged Imperial Russian Government bank-notes and attempting to utter the same at a cash-shop, No. 9, Shantung Road, on the 5th instant.
Detective-sergeant Gilfillan said the prisoners entered a cash shop in Shantung Road on the evening of the 5th instant and endeavoured to cash the notes produced. The shop-keeper said the notes must first be tested, upon which one of the prisoners ran away. Information was given to the police by the shop-keep-and the other prisoner was arrested. Enquiries were made as to the whereabouts of the man who had run away and next day he gave himself up at the Central Police Station. The notes were taken to the Russo-Chinese Bank and _pronounced to be forgeries. The Bank people said that many of such notes bad got into circulation in the North. The two prisoners were boatmen and had arrived here in a junk from Newchwang.
The prisoner who had at first run away was sentenced to one week's imprison ment. The other prisoner was dismissed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.