Ordered by Government to Be Sealed and Confiseated: Sheng's Alleged Corruption as an Official ang: pao amassed his huge fortune Alleging that the late Mr, Sheng
ly moappropristing and emberling pubile funds whilst serving as an Qilal under the former -Manchit Government, the. National Governnent lo sued' an order on September 16 for the sealing and. confiscation fall properties left by the deceased 1 News of this move ig convey ews agency Message as follows Nanking, Sept. 27.
By order of the State Council, swith the exception of those reser¥ ed for charity and philanthropic purposes, all property belonging: to the late Sheng Hsuan-huai, an official of the Manchu regime better known as Sheng Kung-pao, is to be confiscated on the ground that the Late Manchu official accumulated his vast fortune through embezzlement of public FoR cansiation of the mandate reads:
Following a report recently submitted to the Government to effect that the late Shen Honan-huai, an official of the de-funer Manchu dynasty, was guilty of embezzlement of' enormous public funds, the ease being con-Bidered very serious, the State Council appointed a' high committee to investigate the case.
Now the said Committee having submitted a report on its findings with conclusive evidence against the accused, at the same time petitioning for a thorough examination and prosecution of the ence; it is, therefore, hereby orderced that, with the' exception of those portions of his property which have been allocated for charitable purposes, all. property of the late Sheng Hsuan-buat be seized and confiscated so as to set an example to all woald-be corrupt on! the question of arriving at a settlement with regard to the charity fund, The proposal was that the Provincial Government should take 40 per cent., leaving the remainder to the relatives and trustees for their own uses. This, by the way, was quite contrary to what had been directed in Mr. Sheng's will, and the trustees insisted that the terms of the will should be carried.out. The}
Kiangsu authorities then issued series of secret orders to the Provisional Court for a full accounting, with orders that the estate should not be divided without their permission and authority. Again the trustees and the relatives were stubborn, 30 the Kiangsu Government, realizing that they were not to be intimidated, ordered the sealing of the properties. Accordingly towards the end of October, 1928, sealing orders were issued by the Provisional Court. This action could only have been executed by the Municipal Police, and the Council naturally refused to allow them to ferry it out.
The Treasurer Arrested Deceased being the founder and chief shareholder, during his life time, of the China Merchants S.N.Co,, the Han Yeh Ping Tron Coal Ca, and scores of other interests of smaller size, the Ministry of Agriculture & Mines (the Ministry of Industry, Commerce Labour?) then issued orders for the detention of all shares belonging to the estate and held in trust, This was on November 28.
On February 9, this year, the trustees were ordered to attach their' signatures to deeds for the transfer of these shares and of certain funds, but the trustees were adamant and the treasurer of the estate was arrested and removed to Nanking for rial," which, incidentally, was held in camera—by whom, it is not The First Moves It was as far back as June, 1928, that the first attempt was made on the estate, when Judge Loo Hising-yuan, then President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, was ordered by the Kiangsu Provincial Government to seal the properties and arrear the trustees. As there was no legal ground for such action and as no court of law, civil or criminal, would have sustained it, Judge Loo refused to obey and he' frankly informed the Kiangsu authorities that his aim and his duty was to uphold the law, not to break it. This was generally believed to be one of the chief reasons for his dismissal. When the matter was first exposed, vigorous denials were given, but the facts by this time were too well known to the public for any deni Tt was then agreed that the best way to approach the matter was to. sound the relatives and the trustees Later in the month, an order was, issued forbidding the transfer of any of the holdings or properties of the estate without permission from the National Government. About this time, too, the original trustees were dismissed, Tis, 4,000,000 in China Merchants Shanghai, Sept. 18.
With reference to the Nanking's forte: for the confiscation of the Sheng Kung-pao estate, it is re-Hiably learned that the late Mr. 'Sheng had 42,000 shares with tha' China Merchants' S. N. Ca. at Tis.
100 per share. Through the humorous reorganizations of the Company, the old shares have been changed for new, two of the latter' for one of the former. Thus tha shares in Mr. Sheng's name doubled in number but the par value has remained at Tis, 4,200,000.—Kuo Won,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.