Shopmaster Sentenced to Three Years Charged with setting fire to his premises in Boone Road, in a densely populated area, an iron shipmaster was sentenced by Magistrate Li and Mr. King to three years' imprisonment at the Mixed Cowt on Tuesday. 5 Mr. R. C. Faithfull prosecuted. At the last hearing it was alleged that the prisoner had committed the offence within a few weeks of taking out an insurance policy for $3,000. Fifteen people were sleeping in the house at the time of the fire, which ocourred last month.-
An insurance broker said that his company had had suspicions as to how the outbreak was caused. Accordingly they endeavoured to obtain possession of the man's policy and cancel it. The prisoner had a big wholesale business. He had told witness that an apprentice had dropped a lighted match into some spirits of wine, and hence the fire started.
Det. Sub.-Insp: Conduit said that the police had been unable te discover whether the prisoner had any debts. At the station he said that all his property was in the shop during the fire. A few days later, however, while under 1¢- mand, his wife had visited him at the station, to give him his winter clothes.
Mr. Faithfull asked why, if the prisoner were innocent, he did not remain at his home. His conscience must have smitten him from the very first because he told the. neigh-hours that he would have to leave at ones, or else be arrested. Fificen people were sleeping upstairs. In order to save their lives, they were obliged to jump out of the windows.
A man engaged in the same occupation as the prisoner gave evidence on his behalf. He described the fire and said he.went at onca to offer assistance to his friend, who was doing all he: could to put it out. Witness did not see any person jump from the windows.
The only other witness for the defence, one of the accused's apprentices, told the Court that he asleep when the fire broke on. Eventually he was taken to the house of the prisoner's mother-inlaw. Questioned by the Court, the witness said that tha spirits of wine had been ordered for a customer. The tins had been opened in order to bottle the liquid and mix it with some polish. The bot-ties had not been bought at the time.
Sentence was then passed by the Court. accordance with orders from the French Municipal Police keepers of lottery shops in the French Concession are closing their doors. Already more than: 30 of these places. have gone out of business, and their total losses" estimated are at $250,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.