The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-12-18
WhyThreeChinese
Let Another
Die.
TOO MUCHEE BAD
SPIRIT" SAID THEY
Celestial Trio Feared Wun Ching
Would Put a HOOdOO
on House.

s 4 T THE inquest held yesterday
~ afternoon over the body of the
"A Chinaman, Wun Ching, who died
Sunday evening under suspicious cir
cumstances, Interpreter Crawford was
kept busy translating the excited glib
berish of three very much frightened
and perturbed Celestials. Their testi-
mony was confused mesh of contra
dictory and inconsistent stories, inter
woven with Oriental superstition and
the Chinese horror of a dying man.
Through the tumble of evidence
given it was made plain that the dying
man had been heartlessly hustled out
of the washhouse and left to pass
away alone, while his friends fed in
terror from the premises. Lee Sing,
| however, braver than the rest, had
paused to gather together a number
of gunnysacks and rice bags, with
| which he made a rude pallet, and
rolling the dying man upon it, placed
| a lighted lantern at his head, so that
| some passerby might discover him.
| Then he, too, fed, and the unfortu-
nate Chinaman, writhing in the death
agony, was left alone to face the
dread passing of the spirit.
| Wun Chon, brother of the deceas-
ed. testified that Wun Ching was fifty
four years of age. He was not present
/ at his brothers death and knew
nothing about the case. He had seen
him last on Saturday, when he was
we'll and strong.
i Wun Mou, another relative of the
dead Chinese, was called and sworn
He became badly tangled up in his
evidence. On the previous evening ht
had stated that he was present at the
| time Wun Ching was carried from tht
house. and that in fact he had carried
, him out himself, at Wun Chings re
quest. as the latter said he was il
: and wished to vomit. In the examina
ton Wun Mou contradicted himself
and admitted that his previous state
ment was untrue, 1t was made, h
!, said at the request of the Chinamel
!, of the washhouse, as they were no
his relatives, and would have nothin
to do with the case. 1t had been pre-
: arranged for Wun Mou to say he ha
n assisted the deceased out of the house
I but Wun Mou had become frighten2
and failed to testify as agreed.
Lee Sing. a laundryman, told a yer
straight story, and with dramatic ges
: lures outlined the case for the bene
fit of the jury. He said that the sic
Chinaman had called at the wash
house about noon and asked to b
admitted. He had let him in an
L cooked rice and sweet potatoes fo
i him of which Wun Ching ate spal
:. ingly He had also volunteered
y send for doctor, but Wun Ching sal
II for him not to. At 5 O'Clock the sic
man grew worse, and the Chiname
a were all afraid and ran away.
Lee Sing had assisted him outsio
- and arranged the pallet for him, an
= then he, too, left, according to h
" own statement, to go find the SIC
y mans relatives" All the Chiname
II placed on the witness stand had SON
= excuse or evasion for absenting then
= selves as soon as the deceased W;
III found to be dying, and nothing fu
ther could be learned from them. tt
ie inhumane act was according to Il
ce usual Chinese custom of deserting Il
A dying, and had Wun Ching died