London Night Life

Hokitika Guardian, 8 June 1922, Page 4

London Night Life

LONDON, April 19. Fifty or so people crowded the solemn eliapel-like coroner’s court at Paddington'yesterday morning to bear the lifestory of Freda Kemptoii, a 21-years-old dancing instructress. Her death, is associated ivitli suspicions of drug poisoning. Of the murmured conversation iliat went on between Dr Oswald, the suave and unemotional coroner, and n fragile little dancing girl in the witness-box, who had been her companion, one caught only snatches, but they lit up the story with revealing flashes. "... Three o’clock in the morning . . . we called a taxi . . . man I knew as ‘Sammy.’ .... We went to the Chinese ltestaurant .. . Freda and Billy were together. .. . She was drinking port. . . . ‘Got on to C hang,’ she said to me, indicating the telephone. . . . From Brett’s we went to the Forty-three Club.” These were some of the glimpses of London’s tawdry night life as revealed to the back of the court, where sportv-looking men and slim girls of delicate features, with furs lightly wrapped about their shoulders, sat listening hard. The girl in the witness-box was Hose lleinherg, a fellow dancing instructress of Miss Kcmpton’s—a petite, slender girl in a black coat of some shiny material trimmed with a heavy fur collar and fur cuffs. Her thin,, pale face was almost concealed under a beehive-like hat of black straw.

She spoke in a composed monotone. Only occasionally did she raise her voice. Once was when she told how her friciij.l came out of a room with her mouth twitrhing curiously and said. "I have been drugged.” Freda know the symptoms. "Twelve -months ago.” she told Miss lleinherg, "1 used to take drugs and my mouth twitched so that I had to chew gum in order-lo make people think 1 was eating sweets.” 13 PACKETS OF COCAINE.

The possession of 13 packets ol oeainc fa drug obtained from the leaves of the cocoa plant producing local insensibility to pain) hy the dead girl was also revealed. "She opened her powder puff ease,” said Miss lleinherg, "and I thought she was going to powder her nose. Instead, she brought out 13 litt! - ' packets wrapped in white paper. The reference to the calling up of Chang (or “Billy”) on the telephone turned all eyes in the court towards a yellow-faced Oriental who was watching the evidence with impassive countenance. His overcoat was provided with a handsome fur collar, a gold bracelet watch was on his wrist, his jet black hair was brushed smoothly hack from his brow. This was Chang. He is to make a statement later. The most dramatic moment in the proceedings eame-when Miss Hoinbejg told how Chang the Chinese had given Freda a small bottle, and how in a conversation that followed Freda ask id : “Billy, can you die hy taking cocaine?” The evidence of the medical experts who have been examining (.lie organs i f the body was re-orved for a future occasion. Tie inquest was adjourned.