A Japanese army sergeant-major, not on duty, threw lighted matches into the eyes of Mr. W. Iredale, British, in East Broadway early yesterday morning, it was reported by Mr. Ireland and four other witnesses to the Settlement Police and H.M.
Consulate-General.
The assault, which was said to be entirely unprovoked, occurred as Mr. Iredale and two other Ewo employee: Messrs. T. Clarke and H. Jackson, also British, were bound for the Shanghai Waterworks compound in Yangtszepoo, under a Settlement Police escort, at about 120 s.m. The three Britons had procured the escort, consisting of a foreign and a Japanese police sergeant, at Central Station as they had business which required their presence at the Waterworks in the early morning.
Accompanied by the two policemen. the three civilians were riding in Ea Broadway towards Yangtszepoo when their car was suddenly halted by a Japanese in army uniform standing in the roadway. The Japanese shouted to the occupants of the car to get out, and all complied with the request, As soon as they were on the roadway, the three civilians were attacked by the Japanese army man who beat them with his drawn sword and fist and pushed them to one side of the road, according to the reports. The Japanese police sergeant also was assaulted by the soldier and beaten about the legs and back with the soldier's sword.
The point where the incident took plifte was outside the entrance of the China Merchants Lower Wharf, where a guard of the Japanese Naval Landing Party is permanently on duty. The Japanese army man managed to push two of the foreign civilians into the sentry-box outside the gate, and there he started further to harass Mr. Iredale.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.