The latest trick of Chinese thieves is to attend banquets posing as representatives of guests who are unlikely to attend, present forged cloakroom ticket, and slip off with somebody's expensive overcoat without enjoying the banquet. The trick does not always succeed.
It was very unfortunate on Sunday last for Shih Li-yi, a 20-year old youth who, after gaining entry into the banquet hall of a, Chinese restaurant in Foochow Road and steal ing a new overcoat in the manner described, met the man he was supposed to represent. He was caught by the guests and taken to Louza Police Station Young Shih is now being detained together with another man by the First Special District Court.—The other man aroused the suspicions of guests present because when the youth was being questioned after the trick had been discovered he kicked him and tried to force him out from the banquet hall.
As the youth was wearing a stolen coat at the time his action was highly suspicious and was therefore also handed over to the police. His explanation that he was a detective attached to the French police did not satisfy neither the police nor the judge. His name does not appear in the police payroll.
The accused youth is alleged to have tried the same trick several times in other places. On Sunday, last, he sought to represent Mr. Hsilin Chi, a Chinese member of the for Canton tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, thus being the first steamship to reopen the Pearl River to passenger traffic. The vessel is carrying only foreigners and no Chinese. It is hoped that this will be the prelude to further sailings from here, and to the reopening of a regular service between the ports.—Reuter
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.