Mr. S. Moss, defending, asked that his client, Taung Sih-ling, be placed in the box. He said he was a barber shop. proprietor at 47a Alabaster Road which place is situated at the head of the alleyway, upon which faces the despoiled house. ~He said that he had been on Alabaster Road shortly after the robbery and saw three men running. Later he said it was four, the hindmost being Zung Lau-s. He had no business there. To questions placed by Mr. Moss he replied that he had never been to the Wu Ling lodging house and denied signing his name to the book. He denied ever receiving amy money from the gang. Sung had been an employee at his barber shop. He had gambled and when he Taung, had remonstrate ed with him there had been trouble, and to settle it, he had gone to the tea-ship and there met the gang for the first time. His brother too had been in difficulty and tried to extort funds from the gang. He declared he had been in the Settlement for 10 years and had never been in trouble.
Mr. Reader Harris, acting for complainant, in cross-examination—What theatre did you go to the night of the robbery?—It was the Counse]—And you saw the wife of complainant there, did you not?—I do not know.
Counsel—And the lookout in the Mohawk Road robbery was in your employ, too'—I did not know his connexions.
Counsel—Your brother is wanted for two armed_robberies?—-So I have been told.
Counsel—You were in Alabaster Road on the night of the robbery?—Really, I had no knowledge of the affair.
Defendant admitted that Sung read to him from a paper, saying that a thief in the Mixed Court had received a sentence of three months and said in a spirit of braggadocio, "'It is better to be a robber than a mere thief."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.