Post by NZBC on May 3, 2015 15:55:09 GMT 12
GAMBLING RAID
I CHINESE APPEAR BEFORE COURT FINES AMOUNT TO £132 Thirty-two Chinese, arrested during a police raid on premises known as a Chinese boarding-house in Madras street appeared at the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning before Mr E. C. Levvey, S.M. Young Fong, a fruiterer, aged 48 years, was charged with being the occupier of premises at ICS Madras street, and using them as a common gaming house, and Yee Kwong was charged that, being the owner of the premises, he knowingly and wilfully permitted them to be used a.s a common gaming house. The rest of the men were charged with being found in a common gaming house. Fines of £SO were imposed on Young Fong, the occupier, and Yee Kwong, the owner. Ah Kum was fined £3, and the rest, of the men £l. Costs were ordered to be paid in each case. The men found on the premises were:—Sun Hop, a laundryman, aged 32; Yee Sung Soon, a laundryman, aged 65; Ah Kum, a cook, aged 63; Sum Low. a merchant, aged 57; Low Sun, a fruiterer, ox Timaru, aged 32; For Chi, a fruiterer, aged 25; Yee Key, a gardener, oi Marshland, aged 46; Ah Chin, a laundryman. of Wellington, aged 51: Ah Yee, a laundryman, arjed 52; Sam Lee, a gardener, aged 38; Lim You, a gardener, aged 51; Willie Wong, I a gardener, aged 33; Wong Kwong, a i gardener, aged 55; Ah Young, a gar( dener, aged 35; Young Ching, a i'ruit-1 erer, aged 32; Ah Hing, a gardener, aged 30; Charlie Ching, a gardener, aged 50; Willie Joe, a laundryman aged 42; Tee Kwong, a gardener, aged (i 5; Joe Lee, a laundryman, aged 32; Ah Yet, a gardener, aged fiO; George Hing, a gardener, of Marshland, aged 31; Yee Fook Loy, a laundryman, aged 34; Jim Mo.v, a gardener, or' Marshland, aged 58; Ah Man, a gardener, aged 48; Lo Ching Nim, a gardener aged 35; Sam Young, a gardener, aged 40; Ah Yick, a laundryman, aged 40; Ah Chock, a laundryman, aged 37; Ah 800, a gardener, aged 40; and Jack Sing, a fruiterer, aged 17.
Mr D. W. Russeli, who appeared for all of the accused, entered a plea of not guilty in each case. Chief-Detective W. H. Dunlop, who prosecuted, said that about 8 o'clock on Sunday night, following complaints made about the premises over a long period, a visit to the premises was paid by Sergeant L. T. Moore, accompanied to Detectives J. J. Halerow and J. Mc- Clung. When the police appeared in the building there was a considerable amount of money on tables, but the men made a grab for it About £4 was left.
Sividencc of l'oflcc Serjeant Moore then gave evidence and his statements were translated to Youn.i,'Fony and Yee Kwong by Mr Willie Wah. He said that he had visited the premises with Detectives Halcrovv and McClung at 8.10 p.m. On gaining entrance they found about 11 Chinese sitting down in .a room to the right of the passage-way playing dominoes. There was silver and dice on the table. Detective McClung attended to this table, and he passed on to a room at the back where there were about 20 Chinese sitting down at a long table covered with a mat, and contain in.:< paraphernalia used for playinw ian tan. There was also a large amount of silver on the table, which the Chinese made a scramble to recover. He took possession of all the paraphernalia and a tin containing 17s 5d on the table. The Chinese were then arrested and taken to the police station. To the chief detective. Sergeant Moore said that both of the men were
known to him. and had previously appeared V>efore the court in 1933. Detective McClung said that Young Fong had admitted that he was the occupier, and Yee Kwong had owned the property for 10 years. Yee Kwong was standing watching the others while they were playing. He took possession of £2 19s in money from the table, also two dice from the tabic and one from under the table.
Offer of Bribe Detective Halcrow said that three Chinese had escaped by the back door. The occupier of the house was searched und was found in possession of £l2 3s 9d. The owner was also searched but had only twopence. The total amount in possession of the arrested men was £ll2 12s. working out to an average of £3 10s 4d a man. One Chinese had offered him £1 to lot him go. When he refused, the amount was raised to £2. He saw him offer £1 to Detective McClung. The Defence Mr Ttussell submitted that only three things had been proved. These were that the house was a boarding-house: that certain Chinese had been found there with paraphernalia which was connected with gambling; and that the Chinese had been found with n certuin amount of money. Therefore the charge that the house had been kept as a common gaming house had not been proved. He cited the case of Weathered v. Fit/gibbon before Mr Justice Salmond, in which it had been determined that one instance of playing such games did not prove that the premises on which they were played were a common gaming house. The chief detective said that a number of men from the same place had previously been before the court for gaming. The magistrate then gave his decision. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19350528.2.43&cl=search&srpos=201&e=-------100--201----0chinese+fruiterer+wellington--&st=1
Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21484, 28 May 1935, Page 9