The San Francisco call., 1899-01-23
INTERPRETER
FOR ONG FOON
IS ASSAULTED
He Was Attacked by
Highbinders.
ONE OF THEM ARRESTED
HONG SING SAYS THE SLAVE
DEALERS WANT HIM.
Louie Lee, the Man Under Arrest,
Protests His Innocence and De-
MES He Is q Ratchet
man.
ONE OF THEM ARRESTED
HONG SING SAYS THE SLAVE
DEALERS WANT HIM.

Hong Sing, member of the Chinese
Society for English Education, who
went to Santa Rosa last week to act as
interpreter in the case Of Ong Foon,
charged with murder, claims he was
assaulted last night by three members
of the Bing Kong Tong One of his
supposed assailants, Louie Lee, he
pointed out to Officer Slattery of Lieu
tenant Esola's squad, and Lee was
charged at the California-street sta
tion with battery.
According to Sings story he was
sent to Santa Rosa to act as interpreter
and assist in the defense of Ong Foon.
He returned to this city Saturday and
learned on his arrival here that a price
of $500 had been placed on his head by
the slave owners, whom he claims are
interested in the conviction Of Ong
FoOn on account of the harm the latter
has done the slave dealers by giving
information to the authorities. sing
says that the Bing Kong Tong is an
organization composed of those en-
gagged in keeping houses of i'll fame.
Sing states that as he was walking
along Washington street, near the cor
ner of Fish alley, last night, he was
assaulted by three men. He called for
the police and his assailants ran. Otl-
Ger Slattery heard the commouon, ana
seeing some half-dozen Cinnamon run
ming started for the nearest one, when
Sing pointed out Louie Lee as the man
he wanted arrested. Slattery captured
Lee, but the others escaped.
At the station Louie Lee protested
his innocence. He declared that he was
standing at the corner of Fish alley and
Washington street when several men
= h r
the trouble was and was grabbed by
Sing. who cursed him and accused him
of having hit him over the head. Lee
denies that he belongs to the Btng
Kong Tong, but admits that he is
member of the Chinese Society of Free
Masons and wears a badge of that or
der. Those familiar with the societies
in Chinatown say that the Free Masons
are highbinder organization. One OF
their clubs was raided by Lieutenant
Price recently and the members or
dered to leave town.
Sing, as soon as he was assaulted,
made the statement that the attack
was due to the part he took in the Ong
Foon case His charge that the assault
was made at the instigation of the
slave dealers is doubted by some of the
officers, as the Educational Society is
at war with the slave men and wish to
bring to their doors anything that goes
wrong in Chinatown. AS a matter of
fact it is not the slave owners of San
Francisco who are directly responsible
for the prosecution of Ong Foon on
the charge of murder. The complaint
was sworn to by Wong Tan, resident
Of Santa Rosa.
The murder was committed six years
ago and Tan claims that the first he
knew of the whereabouts Of Ong Foon
was by reading an account of his ar
rest on the charge Of attempted extor-
ton. Officers from Santa Rosa were
in the city severaE days before the trial
on that charge took place and it was
through the efforts of the parties in
terested in that prosecution that Foon
was not arrested for murder before the
trial. The prosecutors of Foon claim
that he he is also wanted for muir
der committed in Sacramento the same
year as that at Santa Rosa. They say
that the case was huShed up on the
condition that Foon would leave Sacra-
mentO and not return. He went back
some time ago, it is claimed, but was
obliged to leave to save his life.