Chang Kuo-tseng and Wan Hsiao-chang, convicted extortioners, were each sentenced to one years imprisonment yesterday by the First Special District. Court. They were found to have written several extortion letters to Mr. Kung Shankong, an official of the Bank of China.
The bank official was assigned to took after a godown of a Chinese copper shop in Avenue Road. Thinking that he was rich, the accused wrote the extortion letters to him demanding a sum running into four figures. Negotiations between their intended victim and themselves enabled the police to discover their trick and they were soon arrested in the western district. When they ried to extort money they posed as guerillas. i In another extortion case, two sus-neets were declared not guilty yesterday by the same court. The released men are Yen Yi-chung, manager of a massage bath house in Vu Ya Ching Road, and a friend named Sheng Ching-yung. They vere alleged by the manager of another massage bath house located in the same street to have written extortion letters to him demanding $3,000.
It was found out by the police that the extortion letters were not written by the two suspects. A lawyer of the suspects told the court that the plaintiff hated the two men because one of the latter failed to return some money which he lost in a mah jongg game in which the plaintiff. participated Film Censorship Board Activities Of the 33 feature film productions reviewed by the Shanghai Censor ship Board during the month of February, 31 were passed without question and the remaining two were proved after some objectional parts had been deleted. Of the short films, according to the February report of the Commissioner of Police.
60 were pássed without question and one with deletions, Five newsreels were passed complete and four approved with cuts.
Significant, in connection with t increase in the number of Shanghai's amusement centres, was the statement that three new theatres, one in the Settlement and two in the French Concession, were opened during February. an appreciable increase in value from $128.2 million to $165.1 million, ports to Japan mem by million and to Kwantung Territory by over $15 million a decline in exports to the United States of America from $40.3 roi to $15.5 million. The most not feature under this group was the increased value of exports of raw cotton to Japan from $195 million to $71.1 million, and to the Kwantung Leased Territory from $500,000 to $13.7 million.
Also of note was the decline in the value of silk exported, parti ly raw silk (white, steam flat ure), which declined in value from $374 million to $229 million, the export to the ted States of Ame declining by approximately $10 lion. The export of sheep's wool severely handicapped, declining in value from $19.4 million to $7 million, exports to the United States of America falling in value from $134 ion to $500,000 only.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.