The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-07-21
CONSULAR
WANTS LIGHT
Killing Of a Chinese Be-
comes an lnterna-
tional incident.

The killing of Chong Choy Fat dur
ing the course of riot at Oahu plan
tation on the night of April 9th last,
has arisen to the dignity of an inter
national incident, the ~Chinese Consul
having sent to the Attorney General
the following letter with reference TO
the matter:
July 10Th, 1905.
L. Andrews, Esq,
Attorney General of the Territory of
Hawaii, Honolulu.
Sir: | have the honor to lay this
before you for your careful consider
alton relative to the matter of the
killing of one Chong Choy Fat in the
of April last. An inquest was held
over the body of the said Chong Choy
Fat, and a verdict was rendered by
the Jury, as follows: "That the said
Chong Choy Fat came to his death on
the 9th day of April, 1905, at Waipa-
hu, District of Eva, Island of Oahu,
Territory of Hawaii, from hemorrhage
due to gunshot wound fred from an
elevation by some person unknown to
the Jury On May 10Th day last,
about one month after this occurrence,
l communicated with Mr.. VIM. Henry,
High Sheriff of the Territory of Ha-
waii on the subject, and his reply was
to the effect ''that the Coroner Jury
made all efforts to fasten the RESPONSE
bility on the guilty person but fail
ed During the time that the inquest
was in session. l was present, and one
of the witnesses at the said inquest
testified that the said Chong Choy Fat
stated in the presence of several other
persons before dying that a man on
horseback had shot him. According
to the testimonials given by various
witnesses, it was proven that no one
was on horseback excepting the police
who raided the place and therefore it
must be the police who did the shoot
ing. Under these circumstances and as
the matter has been .kept in allegiance
for period of more than three
months, no word has ever been heard
from the Police Department of the ar
rest of any one who did the shooting.
| therefore respectfully request that
you will be good enough to carefully
look into the matter and use your best
legal efforts to fasten the responsible
ity on the guilty person or persons, so
that he or they may be dealt with ac
cording to law.
l have the honor to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
CHANG TSO TAN,
H. I. c. MS Consul
To this letter the following answer
has been returned, which shows that
the Department has been keenly alive
all along to the Importance of the
case:
Honolulu, July Goth, 1905.
To His High Imperial Chinese Males
tvs Consul, Honolulu, T. II.
Sir: Your favor of July 10Th duly
received and in reply / would state
that we have had for sometime, under
investigation the matter of which YOU
speak. 1t seems that there was con-
siderable perjury committed at the
hearing of the Coroner's inquest of
which crime two of the witnesses have
already been indicted through the eff
forts of this office, and it is hoped that
| at their trial further developments will
be elected as to the real cause of the
| death of Chong Choy Fat.
We would be very glad of any as
| sistance which your Consulate can of
fer in this matter in the hunting down
of the person guilty of the killing.
Whether it should develop that it was
a public official or some irresponsible
person would make no difference in his
prosecution by this Office.
| Yours respectfully.
LORRIN ANDREWS,
Attorney General.
| The killing of Chong Choy Fat grew
out of what was supposed to be. at the
| time, political riot. It seems that ex-
Detective Qticer McDuffie, after he
had quit the police force, was employ
ed as special officer at Oahu plantation,
in the district of Eva. Now, it may
or 1T may not have been a coincidence,
but 1t soon afterwards became known
to the police that che ia was being
played at Waipahu, and that All On
and All Fat, two well known experts
at that game, were frequenting the
plantation.
Upon this information coming to the
knowledge of the police, a raid of the
place was planned, and it was in the
course of this raid that the Chinese
about whom the Consul has interested
himself was killed. The story of the
raid, it will be remembered, was told
in divers ways at the time. In fact
there was lot of conflict as to what
the police did or did not do. and as
to whether the shot that killed the
Chinese was fired by man on horse