THE WELLINGTON ASYLUM ENQUIRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2441, 22 December 1892, Page 4

THE WELLINGTON ASYLUM ENQUIRY.

At the Ah Ching enquiry at Wellington on Monday Dr Fookes, superintendent of the Asylum, stated that the two cells in which the Chinaman was confined are unfit for such purposes when the patient is of a violent turn of mind. The ordinary cell has projections, from which a person could throw himself, and the padded cell is unsuitable because the padding is not high enough, the patient being able to climb on top and throw himself off, as the height is only some seven feet. The Chinese witnesses refused to give evidence on the ground that they had no legal adviser present. Dr Fookes repeated the evidence at the inquest on the body of Ah Ching. Deceased’s bones appeared softer than normal. • Had witness found the broken ribs earlier he could have done nothing for him, as the fractures on both sides would have necessitated strapping on both sides. Strapping was a long process, and it would have been necessary to put the patient under chloroform, otherwise his restlessness might have caused what actually did cause death, the cutting of a blood vessel. The pad in the padded room was nothigh enough. If Ah Ching had thrown himself from a ledge seven feet high on to a padded floor, he might have fractured his riba, more especially if it was a tightly stuffed bed on the floor. Duncan McLean, head attendant, deposed that he examined Ah Ching on his admission to the asylum, and found no ribs broken. He saw the patient put in a strait jacket, but next day found that he had got out. When putting the jacket on, Edwards, an attendant, had to put a strap round Ah Ching’s neck to prevent his biting, and had since been dismissed for doing so. Witness had got another Chinamen to go into deceased’s cell and endeavour to get Ah Ching to say how his ribs had been broken, but the man could discover nothing. Another of the attendants stated that after Ah Ching was placed in the straitjacket he saw him “ bash ” himself against the walls and climb on the ledge of the shutters and throw himself down full length on the floor. Ah Ching was the most violent patient he had ever seen, and he throw himself about in every conceivable manner. It was a wonder he did not kill himself outright. Dr MacGregor, in his evidence, defended the use of the strait-jacket in certain cases, and held that in the present instance the right thing had been done. He believee that Ah Ching received his injuries by throwing himself from the ledge in the room. On Tuesday the police, who arrested Ah Ching when he became insane, gave evidence that he was very violent, but was not injured in their hands. Frederick McLean, who had written to a newspaper eome time ago, stating that he thought that deceased had been injured by those who first secured him, gave evidence that ha had changed his mind, and was now of opinion that the injuries must have been received after the arrest. Drs Fell and Martin, on whose certificate Ah Ching was committed, were of opinion that a man could -break his ribs by throwing himself off the ledge the room in which the deceased was confined. Dr Martin said that in view of the violence of Ah Ching, he thought that there would have been danger in strapping up his ribs. He considered restraint justifiable in Ah Ching’s case. As Dr Fookes had described’dectased’s ribs to be soft and decayed, there would have been little difficulty in breaking them. It was probable that Ah Ching. in the condition in which he was, would not feel any pain. The Commissioner intimated that he did not intend to recommend the authorities to recover penalties from the Chinese who had declined to give evidence.