TREASON TRIAL OF MAJOR COUSENS

Chronicle (Levin), 11 September 1946, Page 5

TREASON TRIAL OF MAJOR COUSENS

SUBMITTED SO AS TO AVOID TORTURE Received Tuesday, 9.35 p.m. SYDNEY, Sept. 10. He would have accepted a clean death by shooting or belieading at the liands of the Japanese but he was afraid of torture. He liad reaelied the end of the tetlier. These statements were made in evidence by Major Clmrles Hughes Cousens in his second day in the box during the hearing of a cliarge of treason against liini. Major Gousens told the Court of effiorts made by an official of Japan '.s Board of information to get him to broadeast. These included blows and threats of execution. When it was suggested that he would be handod lo ihe secret police for punishment, Major Cousens admitted to the Court that he was at the end of the tetlier. "1 knew that in my then coudition, it would only take at the most a day or two of Kenipei Tai torture before they had reduccd me to a conilition in which I felt no whito man sliould ever appear before an Asiativ," he said. He sub mitled liecause he had thoughts of sal'Otaging tlie Japanese broaileasting svstem and knew if he refused other officers would be subjccted to the saitie treatment. He was ordered to attention before an other Japanese oflieer and a series of ord^rk^wasriYegad ;to-Giiiji in a menai-iiig vofcc. - They were tiiat Mie would obey the orders- of the imperial Japanese army on pain of deatli. He bowed beeause he knew prisoners who did not were baslied until tliev did. He later signed these orders. Ile tried to sabotage liroadcasting scripts by readjng too quickly and in a monotone. When he read tlie first an official gralibed liirn by tlie collar and screamed at liim. Sulisequently it appeared that several English-speaking Japanese were svmpat.he.tic towards him. He kept up his sabotage attempts. It was nonsense 1o say tliat he had extolled the virtues of the Japanese.