Zeng-zen appear charged with ig been concerned together causing a fire on their premises, No. 117 Taing Zo Kah, through gross carr lessness, thereby endangering life and property at 10.50 p.m. on the 10th instant.
Det.-Inspector McDowell, who prose cuted, said the premises in question were used as a'shop for the sale of! common brown paper. It was insured for sums amounting to Ts, 20,000, After the fire the accused made statements to the effect that on the evening in question @ small lamp (produced) had been accidentally upset upstairs. Accused with the help of some friends produced a mattress and threw it 0 top of the burning oil which had spread over the floor for some distance,. Some of the burning oil, however, had run through the floor and dropping on to the floor beneath set the house on fire downstairs, where the—flames: burned so fiercely that the efforts of acctised and their friends to subdue the flames, were unsuccessful. Statements made by neighbours did not: support the accuseds' stories, for they all agreed that the fire started downstairs. The lamp would only hold two wineglassfuls of oil and it was absurd for them to state that the oil had soaked through the oer and dropped to the Boor beneath, still alight, Tucendiarism had reached a high state ut in Shanghai, and when periods approached a epidemic of fires occurred. That was specially noticeable at Chinese New Year. The record of fires showed tittle deviation from year, to year, and it id continue until the Court pat a stop to if "The accused and their witnesses made contradictory statements and the Court found them guilty and sentenced the first and second man to nine and eighteen months' imprisonment respectively, and the third man was fined Tls. 1.000.
The H.C. herald and S. C. & C. Gazette.
Spr 20 1907
September 16, Before Mr. Kuax (Magistrate) and 1 r.8. Bantox (British Assessor).
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.