When a Hong Kong police inspector shot at an armed robber who’d turned his gun on him, and the thief later pleaded guilty out of the blue
- A police officer who found himself chasing an armed robber in Central, Hong Kong, in January 1963 fired his own weapon after the bandit turned his gun on him
- In court the suspect, a former Chinese Nationalist soldier, unexpectedly pleaded guilty to armed robbery. One robber was shot dead during the chase
“Inspector John Franklin Barnes, attached to the Waterfront Police Station, told the Criminal Sessions yesterday he had fired three or four shots at an armed robber who had pointed a gun at him in Des Voeux-road Central on January 2,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 27, 1963.
“‘But he disappeared among the crowd and I lost sight of him,’ Inspector Barnes said.
“Inspector Barnes was testifying before Mr Justice I.C.C. Rigby [ …] and a six-man jury against Chan Ngan (37) who is facing charges of armed robbery, shooting with intent to murder, and shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
“Inspector Barnes said he was in Wellcome Co, Des Voeux-road Central, on January 2 when he heard shots from the direction of Pottinger-street. He went out to investigate.
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“At the junction of Pottinger-street and Des Voeux-road Central, he saw two Chinese men, the first armed with a revolver and the second carrying a large brown leather bag, five or six feet behind the first man. Three or four armed policemen were chasing them.
“‘I then went to the middle of the road, by which time, the two men turned eastward,’ he added.”
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On March 28, the Post reported that “Chan (37), described as a former Nationalist Chinese soldier, [unexpectedly] pleaded guilty to stealing while armed with a revolver, $130,160 from the cashier of Wang Kee and Co [ …] on January 2.
“The dramatic turn in the three-day-old trial came when the court resumed yesterday, 90 minutes after the fixed time. Among other prosecution witnesses were police officers who had taken part in the chase, including Police Constable Lau Man-cham, who shot and killed one of the robbers, and Inspector John Franklin Barnes, who chased Chan along Des Voeux-road Central.”
