Captured: Portraits of Crime 1870-1930 - Flipbook - Page 58
18 9 6 - 1911
B ILO EL A
GAO L
PA R R A M AT TA
GAO L
DA R L I N G H U R S T
GAO L
C HINESE BURGL AR
Ah Lee
STEALING, RECEIVING
Ah Lee, born in China c. 1865-71, was convicted of multiple
property offences between 1896 and 1911, and served sentences at
Biloela, Parramatta and Darlinghurst gaols. Lee described himself
as a gardener, hawker or dealer, but others knew him as the
‘Chinese burglar’ because he stole only from his fellow
nationals.
Lee first appears in the NSW Gaol Photographic Description
Books in mid-1896 following convictions for stealing and
receiving stolen goods. On 1 April 1896 at Redfern Police Court,
he was found guilty of breaking into the homes of Ah Fook of Rose
Bay, Ah Look of Double Bay, and Tin Mow and Choi Moon, both of
Botany, as well as a number of other dwellings occupied by
Chinese nationals. He had stolen jewellery, clocks, money and
clothing. Lee was sentenced to two years hard labour. Newspaper
reports described his Court appearance, noting his black suit,
pink tie and ‘bland smile’. His hair was worn in a ‘queue’, a
traditional style adopted by Chinese men during the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1912).
In March and June 1898 Lee and another ‘Celestial’ (Chinese
immigrant), Go Gog, were charged with stealing twenty-eight
shirts and a bag of rice from Sam Lee, laundryman, of Elizabeth
Street, Haymarket. Central Police Court heard that Gog was Lee’s
landlord. Lee was in arrears with his rent and gave Gog four
shirts to cover the debt. The Court found that Gog was unaware
that the shirts had been stolen and dropped the charges against
him. The magistrate described Lee as the worst Chinese burglar in
Sydney and sentenced him to six months hard labour for vagrancy.
On 15 September 1899 Lee was sentenced to five years penal
servitude for stealing in a dwelling and incarcerated in
Darlinghurst Gaol. He had broken into the Rushcutters Bay house
of Sun Cum Chong, stolen a watch, chain, clothing and money, and
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