Evening star., 1920-01-09
GUILTY, IS VERDICT
|. Of JURY IN CASE Of
CHINESE STUDENT
Ziang Sung Wan, Convicted
of Murder in the First
Degree.
PRISONER COLLAPSES
AS HE HEARS FINDINGS
Government Stands on Fourth
Count, Charging Premedi-
tated Murder.

tated Murder.
Zfang Sung Wan. the young Chi
nese student, is guilty of murder in
the first degree, according to the YER
dict rendered this afternoon by jury
in Criminal Division ! after thirty
minutes deliberation. The jury lis
tened for nearly month to the tes-
timony concerning the killing of Ben
Sen WI, an undersecretary at thu.
Chinese educational mission. 2023
kalorama road, January % last. for
which Wan was on trial. The penalty
attached to the verdict is death by
hanging.
The prisoner collapsed as the YER
dict was rendered. and dropping into
his chair rested his head on his hands
| while attempting to pull himself to-
gether. Later he burst into tears and
had to be led from the courtroom by
| two deputy marshals.
| The government elected to stand
on the fourth count of the indictment.
| which charged premeditated mur-
der The other charges of homicide
| while engaged in the execution of u
felony were nolle pressed by the
government.
Case Goes to Jury at Noon.
Justice Gould, after an exhaustive
charge on the law points involved.
| submitted the case to the jury shortly
after noon.
Attorney O'Shea concluded his argu-
ment for the defense with an answer
to the claim of the prosecution that
the defense would try to make the
jury angry with the police IF they
treated this boy as the testimony in
dicates. it is high time that an Amer
ican jury put its stamp of disapprovai
on the methods of the police" asserted
the lawyer for the defense.
United States Attorney Iaskev re-
plying to the claim of the defense that
the government had not shown a mo-
tive for killing WI, insisted that d
motive had been shown because Wan
believed that it was necessary to kill
WI in order to cash the check 70.
$1,000 which WI knew to be forged
Mr.. Laskey ridiculed the claim of
the defense that Wan was not in
financial straits because he had dis
posed of pearl and jade stickpins
worth $1,000 and that he might have
borrowed funds from DR.. Wong. his
good friend" The prosecutor dis
played some of the jewelry to the jury
and insisted that 1916 would purchase
small suit case full of such jewels -
He also pointed out that DIR. Wong.
with knowledge of the receipt by
Wan of $4,000 from his mother in .Au-
gust and $500 in October, would have
refused aid and would have upbra ided
Wan.
Mr.. Laskey insisted that the govern
ment's case had been established and
that Wan should be found guilty as
indicted"
Defends the Police.
! The police would have been ders lict
in their duty if they had not inter
rogated Wan at great length. said Mr.
( Laskey The public interest demands
that persons accused of crime should
be investigated thoroughly, he as
| serted.
Mr. Laskey defended the testimony Of
the detectives and said if they were
not to be allowed to question suspects
I'VE might as we'll close the court
house. If the jury was not convinced
/ that Wan was waiting in the cab out
side the Riggs Bank. the prosecuto-
said he did not want a conviction. bur
if he was the occupant of the cab then
he should be found guilty of murder in
the first degree.
Attorneys Score Evidence.
Attacking the reliability of circum
stantial evidence and asserting that
| the story of the triple murder and
| forgery of a check bor $4,000. as out
lined by the prosecution, displayed
| ANYTHING but cunning on the part of
| the murderer and forger, Attorneys
! Charles Fahy and James A. o'Shea
made strong appeals to the jury to ac-
/ quit Wan, who they claimed is lnno-
| cent of the charges made against him
r
tertained any reasonable doubt of the
/ guilt Of the accused. il was their duty
to resolve that doubt in favor of the
! prisoner and acquit him, the lawyers
declared. Counsel contended that the
4 discriminating statements made by the
! defendant in the alleged confession"
were wrung from him by the police
through third degree" methods.
which the lawyers scored.
aside from the admissions of guilt
| D.. I,
ercion and duress." declared Attorney
Fahy there is not thread in the
web of circumstantial evidence that
| should constitute any part of the
/ hangman's moose. These admissions
should be ignored by the jury, as they
We're forced from an innocent man by
police torture"
Reviewing the circumstances on
which the government relies to con-
Wet Wan. Attorney Fahy asserted
/ they might be applied to one or two
/ others with equal force, and especial
! ly to another Chinese who had ap-
/ peared as one of the chief witnesses
/ for the government
! Sees Nothing Cunning in Slnyings.
The defense can see nothing cum
ming about the triple SlayingS and at
| tempt to cash the check for $1,000"
asserted Mr. O'Shea.
! IF Wan had plotted to kill DR.. The
! L.
| and his associates, Hsie and WI. isn't it
! plausible that he would also have lured
! Kang Lii into the house and killed him.
J Lii saw Wan in the house at o'clock
! on the night of the supposed slayings.
| 1t would have been easy for Wan to
| have admitted Ii. realizing that the
! Chinese student would tell the police of
his presence in the house Oh the night
the crime was committed
Then is there anything cunning about
Vans leaving the mission house and
registering his own name at the Harris
Hotel, of his telegraphing his brother.
Tsong Ing Nan to come to Washington;
No there is nothing cunning about that.
If Wan had premeditated the Staying OF
the Chinese educators he would have
hied himself to some secluded place and
would have summoned his brother by
letter His name on the hotel register
and the sending of the kilograms would
have been tell-tale evidence against him.
No, he would not have done that
Original Signature Never Presented.
1t is charged he forged DR.. Wongs
name to check The prosecution
/ has failed to present the original sig
nature of DIR. Wong. They took ii for
granted that Wan was guilty of forging
the check Yes. he admitted forging
the check, but he was forced to.
"Is it plausible that Wan, had he
known his brother had taken the check
| to the bank, would have told the police
"you get man who took check To
bank and you find murderer"
THE government has attempted to
show that Wan killed the educato'3'