Judgement at Mixed Court On Saturday at the Mixed Court judgement was given by the British Assessor, Mr. Grant Jones, and Magistrate Li, in the case in which two Chinese painters, Doo Fong-Ting and Dong Kwo-yoong, were charged with intimidating certain employees of the Shanghai Horse Bazaar and Garage Ca., Ld Mr. R. C. Faithfull appeared for the Police and Mr. Zia for the Prosecution on behalf of the Horse Bazaar. Mr. Lemiere represented the defendants.
Judgement was as follows The defendants were tried and convicted on March 19 under Article 398 of the Provisional Criminal Code for intimidating certain employees of a motor car and carriage factory with a view to preventing them from following their lawful occupation. They are to-day further charged with offences against Articles 165,223 and 224.
Article 165 deals with riot and there is no evidence to support the charge. We are doubtful whether complainants, the Shanghai Horse Bazaar Ca., Ld., come within the terms of Article 223, and of the applicability of Article 224 to the present circumstances. That Article apparently makes it a penal offence for workmen engaged in the same business to combine in a strike and subjects both leaders and led _to various terms of imprisonment. We are reluctant to construe the article strictly so as to prohibit the combination of workmen for the protection of their legitimate interests. The right of combination, however, must be exercised circumspectly and for proper purposes, more especially by those who are employed on or about matters of public utility. A strike of suen persons organized for an improper purpose or an inadequate cause is clearly within the statute and will be dealt with thereunder.
At the last hearing it was shown that defendants were in that instance concerned in committing acts of violence, namely forcibly removing the tools of their employment and thereby preventing certain other members of their trade from following their lawful calling. No combination or union, whether it be a Student Union, a Trade Union or a Street Union, can be allowed to employ such methods amongst a population that is pecu liarly susceptible to intimidation, and any attempt to do so will be punished with the utmost rigour of the law. The defendants will go to prison for four and two months respectively.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.