From the position of the contesting forces, it was further stated, it was impossible that bullets from the Chinese or Japanese forces could have been directed at the vessel "As a matter of fact, people on the ship could not have seen the guerillas. "Therefore," he reiterated, "it i strange that fire from the ship flying the British merchant flag should have. been directed into the backs of Japanese soldiers, who were facing south.
he assumption that shots were believed to have been fired from the ship as a hallucination or from excitement while under fire is untenable. The action is regarded with utmost regret by the Japanese forces," the spokesman concluded.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.