The persistency of a would-be extortioner who sought to obtain money from his victims by means of loiters threatening bodily harm, was forcibly brought before the Provisional Court on Sept. 3 when. one Tsung Kyung-yoong, describing himself us a coolie, was charged with a violation of Article 1, Section 2 of Provisional Regulations, "An offence against personal liberty."
Testimony was that between January 16 and September 1 he had written a series of letters to Lieu Kob-jih, demanding $3,000, on pain of death should his wishes not be granted.
On one occasion the beater of the money was to locate himself himself in from of a motor garage in Haining Road but when the intended victim had told the police and a man was stationed there to interrupt the game, the accused's agents did not put in an appearance, though the incident was commented upon by the coolie in a later letter to Apparently undaunted by the entry of the police into the case, Tsung became bolder, and on another occasion accepted the daring alternative of sending a relative to the home of the quarry to make the collection, Again the police were Notified and the coolie was located with litre difficulty, with the arrest following.
On the request of the police the case was remanded two weeks to permit of further investigation, less coolie running about the streets of the Settlement narrowly averted a few even ayo when the man in question took upon himself to break into a oom at 308 Ningpo Road and de-Part with that portion of man attire which he had been hereto! without.
But this tremendous rise in social status was brought to a quick halt the following day when the police entered the scene and the coolie had an opportunity to tell his woes in the Provisional Court, on Sept. 4, before Judge Chen, The coolie's testimony in court was exceedingly short. Judge Chen was equally laconic, and after learning that the accused was possessed of itchy fingers and had been convicted on five previous similar charges merely" said, "eight But once back the waiting room, the cootie waxed eloquent and his troubles were enough to melt the heart of the most hardened reporter. And the scone was worthy of the actor, for, in the telling, tears streamed' down the confined man's face in almost as much profusion as when a dancing girl in a local cabaret relates to a erifin reporter how the Bolshevik swarmed across the broad acres of her father's enormous estate and drove that high government official into fleeing to one of his numerous hunting lodges.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.