Serious Crime.—tThis includes the attempted murder of a Chinese detective on February 5 during a duel with armed robbers in a teashop in the Louza District, in the course' of which two of the latter were wounded; the death of a Chinese of the loafer class on February 10 as_a result of being badly assaulted with stools by a gang of men during a dispute over a gambling transaction; the murder on February 11 in the Harbin Road District of a Sikh watchman and the wounding of a Sikh Constable who were stabbed by armed robbers whom they attempted to arrest; and the attempted murder on February 20 at his home in North Shanse Road of a ricsha master who was attacked with a chopper by a ricsha coolie. In the first case the two wounded robbers were arrested and were in hospital at the end of the month. In connexion with the second' case, four men were arrested, the charge against three being withdrawn while the fourth was dis. missed but was ordered to be expelled from the Settlement owing to his bad character. The assailant the last mentioned case was under remand at the end of the month, A case of arson occurred in the Hongkew District on February 16 when a house and factory belonging to a foreigner were set on fire by thieves who stole money and jewellery of a considerable value. The case mentioned in last month's report in which one man was charged with arson was concluded on February 8 when accused was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
Robbery.—Nine reports of armed robbery from dwelling houses and shops were received during the month. An armed highway robbery also occurred in the Gordon Road District.
In connexion with the foregoing reports and those made prior to February 1, six men werd arrested. Three of these were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from three to ten years, the charge against one was distiesed and the two others were under re mand at the end of the month. A man. was also arrested for having taken part in armed robberies in territory under Chinese jurisdiction and handed over to the authorities concerned, The two men mentioned in my report for January as being under remand charged with armed robbery were dealt with during the month, one being sentenced to seven and the other to three years' imprisonment.
One case of highway robbery, in which no arms were used, was reported in the Wayside District. Three men were arrested for robbery from a boat outside Settlement limits and handed over to the River Police.
Shooting Affray.—On the evening of February 18 an armed gang of men, entered a house in Rue Ratard, French Concession, where they shot at and wounded the son of their intended victim, They were chased into the Sinza District where they, succeeded in making their escape. During the chase one Chinese was fatally wounded by a flying bulleti whilst two other Chinese and a Sikh Havildar were wounded.
Property Stolen.—424 reports made under this heading during the month represent a total estimated loss of $88,866 and include 31 cases of burglary. 12 of house-breaking, 9 of godown-breaking and 2 of office-breaking. Successful investigation was made in 149 cases, resulting in the recovery of property valued at $25,823, in addition to which recoveries to the extent of $4,929 were made in connexion with reports received prior to February.,1.
False Reports—Two cases of making false reports came under the notice of the police during the month. In one of these a coolie who had wounded himself with a knife reported to the police that he had been robbed of the sum of $400. Investigation showed the report to be false and that the coolie had converted this money to his own use. He was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. In the second case a chauffeur in the employ of a foreign garage reported that he had been approached by twa ex-chauffeurs who desired his assistance and the use of one of his employer's cars to carry out an armed highway robbery. The report
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.