Empire of Crime: Opium and the Rise of Organized Crime in the British Empire by Tim Newark

Author:Tim Newark [Newark, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2018-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

Cut-down shotguns were also popular. ‘Some of these men were real killers,’ said Onraet, ‘shooting dead unresisting victims simply to terrorise or make a name for themselves. When cornered, they sometimes shot it out from barricaded rooms or housetops.’ As in Shanghai, police assault parties used bulletproof waistcoats and shields when raiding mobster hideouts. One officer nearly drowned at night while wearing one of the heavier models of body armour when he mistook the green surface of a Chinese fishpond for a green field. On another occasion, a policeman wore more home-made protection made out of newspaper stuffed into his uniform by a loving wife.

At an early stage, Onraet learned that much Chinese crime was fuelled by their insatiable appetite for gambling, but he was sometimes shocked as to when it took place:

When I was in China I was once asked by some friends to go and see the execution of some robbers. The execution ground was on a slope running down to a small stream, and on the other side of the stream was another slope whereon the public gathered. In due course half a dozen men were brought out and made to kneel with their heads to the stream. When their heads were cut off, some rolled a few feet, some more, down the slope. There were among the spectators men taking bets on which head would roll furthest!

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