'TWo foreigners speaking English with a strong accent were in disposing of two spurious Bank of England ten-pound notes from Saturday to Tuesday afternoon, it was learned from the Shanghai Murticipal Police yesterday, and it was held possible ihat additional victims would report similar cases. In a special release for the press by the SMP. shopkeepers and others are earnestly requested to ce-operate by immediately reporting any case where similar attempts should be made.
The first case to have come to the notice of the S.M.P. occurred in the night from Sunday to Monday in the Majestic Cafe, 254 Bubbling Well Road, where two foreigners after having a few drinks tendered a spurious ten-pound note in payment. In an endeavour to oblige, the manager took the note and gave his customers $540 after having deducted $13.60 due for their drinks.
The following day, the manager tried to exchange the banknote in a Chinese exchange shop but there te was told that the note was coun-forfeit. Enquiries made at a foreign bank on Tuesday morning confirmed this and the case was reported to the police the same day.
All exchange shops and banks were immediately warned, but before the day was over, another report was received from a Honan Road silk shop, where two foreigners, whose description is now being checked with that of the men who worked the trick at the Majestic Cafe, disposed of a similar note. In this case, however, the counterfeiters bought four rolls of silk valued at $420 and then left in.|a taxi after having received $130 as change.
it is held possible that the men responsible for the job are professional counterfeiters as they had been at the shop some two weeks previously in the company of a Chi nese and had negotiated for the purchase of some silk, although they actually did not buy anything at that time.
The notes are not identical as far as the paper is concerned but seem io have been made from the same plates. With the exception of the quality of the paper, they appear to be genuine, particularly to those who to} have rarely seen a real five or ten-pound note. Enquiries are now being made by detectives from Central and Sinza stations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.