Unsolved Shanghai, Mar, 7.
The Seltlement police must make further investigations to solve the mystery surrounding an attempted Eldnapping which was committed on January 29" when Ho. Shih-tang, wealthy owner of a hardware com= pany in Shanse Road, was carried tway and later released through the Intervention of a Japanese sentry in Hungiao village. 'AIL the five mon arrested by them recently in. con~ ection with this crime were declared hot guilty yesterday by Judge Chiang, the First Special District Court for lack of evidence, When the kidnap car reached the village, it was stopped by a Japanese jsentry'and the victim was released. Later, the police obtained a tip which led them to arrest two men suspected to have known the plans beforehand though they were not involved in the crime itself. A Chinese doctor and two other well-to-do. Chinese merchants, including an employee of the complainant, were arrested also, _was alleged that the two first arrested mon implicated the other tree men as having planned to kidnap the hardware shop owner without knowing that another gang was_also working towards the same goal. They were further alleged to have said that the crime was instigated by the hardware shop employee who was refused obtain a commission in an $000,000 serap iron deal from his master.
The complainant denied that he had ever concluded any serap iron deal with guerillas as was alleged. The other arrested men all denied that they had made any kidnapping plans Since no evidence could be collected against them the judge declared that they were not gullly after repeated questioning.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.