How cruel the world
where a weak soul is the hunter's prey
and the sick silenced the lambs
Never to face justice as the cases go cold ... and colder ...
Oh who am I you ask
Why must I haunt the hollow halls of WEM
when darkness falls
Why may I ask you, perhaps the self-righteous reader
who has and will judge me for what I was when I was amongst you in the land of the living ...
a mere existence, a lonely desolete free-spirited woman
cast in the world's stage as an ill-fortunate lady of the night
serving the wickedly sick pleasures of weak men ...
and yet these men lack the understanding, compassion and humanity to leave me alone to be free in what I do ...Show all
To be continued as the medium dozes off ...
Showing posts with label homicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homicide. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
David Marshall Trials (5)
Continuation of excerpt from Alex Josey's The David Marshall Trials (page 246):
It was not until they found Bellows' diary, and the entry about the threat by Ah Tong, that the police began to probe.
The parang (long knife)certainly came from Ah Tong's general store. There were no fingerprints on the handle. Somebody had wiped them off.
The police soon discovered that Ah Tong and Bellows* frequently quarrelled. They found out about him pestering Mei-lin. They were not surprised: in Johore, Bellows had a reputation for manhandling girls whenever he had had a drop too much. He had been involved in several nasty fights over bar girls in some of the more disreputable night haunts. Altogether they seemed to be plenty of evidence that Ah Tong might have a good cause for assaulting Bellows but hardly enough to suggest murder. In any case was Ah Tong strong enough to swing a heavy parang with such murderous intent? It must have been a very determined blow that struck Bellows, a blow that needed considerable effort and strength. Hatred brings strength, sometimes. The evidence in the diary could not be ignored.
When the police told Ah Tong that they might have to arrest him in connection with Bellows, two things happened very suddenly. Firstly, a young man stepped forward and confessed to killing Bellows. His name was Foo Chan. Second, the village headman telephoned the Old Man's (David Marshall's) office to retain his services, "no matter what the cost", he said.
The Old Man hurried to the village, talked to the headman and to the young man who had confessed to killing Bellows.
Then the Old Man inspected the scene of the crime. He was puzzled by the young man's attitude. He seemed not the slightest bit worried. He had no remorse. When the Old Man asked him why he killed Bellows, the young man said, in translation, that he'd picked up the parang, followed Bellows and struck him.
TO BE CONTINUED
*fictitious name but real person
It was not until they found Bellows' diary, and the entry about the threat by Ah Tong, that the police began to probe.
The parang (long knife)certainly came from Ah Tong's general store. There were no fingerprints on the handle. Somebody had wiped them off.
The police soon discovered that Ah Tong and Bellows* frequently quarrelled. They found out about him pestering Mei-lin. They were not surprised: in Johore, Bellows had a reputation for manhandling girls whenever he had had a drop too much. He had been involved in several nasty fights over bar girls in some of the more disreputable night haunts. Altogether they seemed to be plenty of evidence that Ah Tong might have a good cause for assaulting Bellows but hardly enough to suggest murder. In any case was Ah Tong strong enough to swing a heavy parang with such murderous intent? It must have been a very determined blow that struck Bellows, a blow that needed considerable effort and strength. Hatred brings strength, sometimes. The evidence in the diary could not be ignored.
When the police told Ah Tong that they might have to arrest him in connection with Bellows, two things happened very suddenly. Firstly, a young man stepped forward and confessed to killing Bellows. His name was Foo Chan. Second, the village headman telephoned the Old Man's (David Marshall's) office to retain his services, "no matter what the cost", he said.
The Old Man hurried to the village, talked to the headman and to the young man who had confessed to killing Bellows.
Then the Old Man inspected the scene of the crime. He was puzzled by the young man's attitude. He seemed not the slightest bit worried. He had no remorse. When the Old Man asked him why he killed Bellows, the young man said, in translation, that he'd picked up the parang, followed Bellows and struck him.
TO BE CONTINUED
*fictitious name but real person
Friday, November 2, 2007
The David Marshall Trials -4
Continued from previous extract of The David Marshall Trials by Alex Josey."Don't think I won't," he yelled and threw a flaming touch into a nearby box of paper and charcoal. The paper flared up and Bellows* lurched forward and caught Ah Tong by the shirt, preventing him from putting out the flames.
Screaming, Ah Tong's daughter rushed forward, burning her hands while beating out the fire.
"You mad bastard," said Ah Tong. "I'll kill you for this." Ah Tong said with vehemence and drunk though he was, Bellows remembered it later that night when he wrote up his diary. "Must watch Ah Tong," he pencilled. "Today he threatened to kill me."
To the astonishment of the villagers, towards twilight, Bellows managed to stagger to his jeep and drive away. They never thought he would make it back to Johore, where he lived.
He did not die till a week later. When the police summoned by the villagers, arrived they found his body half-way between the general store and his jeep, lying on soft earth soaked with Bellow's life blood. A parang (long knife) was still half buried in his skull. He'd been struck from behind. None of the villagers would admit that they knew what had happened. There was a conspiracy of silence.
At first the police was prepared to believe this was another attack by militant communists, but they were puzzled by the complete silence of the villagers. When the police asked the headman if he thought the communists had been responsible, the Chinese replied non-committally: "Maybe. Nobody saw what happened."
*fictitious name but real person says the author
TO BE CONTINUED
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)