The first_man definitely to be charged with taking part in the $91,000 robbery at the General Post Office, on September 9, and the shooting in which two postal employees were killed and another wounded was arraigned before the First Special District Court on Monday, Oct. 7, He was Chi Jen-tang, alias Woo Kung, a Buddhist priest, who was brought to Shanghai from Funing, north Kiangsu, where detectives of the S. M. Police had spent nearly two weeks in tracing criminals.
'The accused confessed his part in' the robbery, but denied that he fired any of the shots that killed the two postal employees. The srcused said he lived in a Chapel temple when he was in Shanghai and that he had one previous conviction, After being delayed for some time 'A fine of $54,000 was imposed on Cheng Chin-yn, proprietor of the Yung Tai tobacco store, by Judge Tsou in the First Special District Court last Wednesday on charges of having evaded Government consolidated and stamp taxes amounting to more than $27,000. The fine is be~ Ueved to be the biggest in the court history in recent years.
According to the prosecution, the store, at 326 Honan Road, sold cigars between February, 1933, and December, 1994, without paying tax. Many account-books, which did not bear Fevenue stamps, were also found.
The defendant did not appear during the hearing but was represented by a lawyer, who said that the taxes fon the cigars sold by the store had been paid by the manufacturers. Mr. Chang Meng-yung, of the Internal Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance, submitted regulations governing tobacco taxes, fo enable the police to trace the "ringleaders, "the trial was. opened in the First Special Dis-ict Court on Tuesday, Oct. 8, of six Chinese, three men and thre women, charged with being members of the gang responsible.
Outlining the police investigations fin the case, Mr. T. S. Lea, Assistant Municipal ' Advocate," prosecuting, stated that, following the arrest of three persons on board a river boat on September 20 and the recovery of a part of the loot, detectives were sent to Funing in north Kiangsu to trace three others implicated as the ringleaders of the gang responsible.
With the assistance of the Funing volunteers, Mr. Lea said, the detectives arrested one of the trio wanted, namely, the Buddhist priest, but when they raided the house of Liu Siao Sze-ise, the second man wanted, the latter offered resistance and managed to escape after being fired on by the volunteers. This man had been implicated as the one who did the shooting which caused the death ofa guard and coolie of the Post Omce and the wounding of another guard. "As to the three women, they were relatives of the male prisoners jand had assisted in the disposal of the stolen money, Mr. Lea said.
The six prisoners were then ques tioned separately by the Judge. Two of them admitted that the gang held meetings several months ago and they at first plotted to rob a native bank, but "ater they changed their mind and decided to rob the Post Once. One of the women prisoners also implicated constable of the Public Safety Bureau stationed in the General Post Office who, she alleged. had fse attended. the' meetings, This Woman also said he got $3000, of which $1,000 were deposited by her a local Chinese bank. Both Liu Siao Sze-tse andthe priest fled to Funing after the Post OMce robbery Jand they also told her to flee, the Woman accused said. The Judge remanded the accused, Lee Hsueh-shih, a newly-arrested man, ig described' as a farmer from Funing-hsien, north Kiangsu, where Woo Kung, the Buddhist priest who the allged ringleader of the gang At the time of his arrest, Lee found' in possession of over $200, which were alleged to be part of the proceeds of the Post Office robbery.
Brought before the First Special District Court on Friday for a writ of detention to be issued against him pending further inquiries, the prisoner said the money had been given him by a friend who asked him to take the amount to north Kiangsu. and that he received the money in Chapel tea-shop. Questioned where his friend was, the prisoner said he had. "no knowledge. The Judge ordered that he should be detained for tri
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