1931 Empress of Canada stabbings

Last updated

1931 Empress of Canada stabbings
Japan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of attack
Location of attack (Japan)
Locationaboard RMS Empress of Canada, off Japan
Coordinates 34°31′N145°31′E / 34.51°N 145.51°E / 34.51; 145.51
Date5 June 1931
c. 9:30 a.m. (UTC+09:00)
Attack type
 Mass stabbing
Weapons Pocketknife
Deaths2
Injured29
PerpetratorGraciano Bilas
MotiveMental illness

On 5 June 1931, a mass stabbing occurred off the coast of Japan, aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamships liner RMS Empress of Canada. 42-year-old Filipino passenger Graciano Bilas killed two people and wounded 29 others with a knife. Bilas was arrested and brought to Hong Kong, where he was declared insane and committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Contents

Attack

At approximately 9:30 a.m. (UTC+09:00) on 5 June 1931, Graciano Bilas, a 42-year-old Filipino steerage passenger, began stabbing people randomly with a pocketknife aboard the Empress of Canada. [1] [2] [3] Bilas, a plantation laborer in Hawaii, had boarded the ship on 29 May to sail to the Philippines. [3] At the time of the attack, the Empress of Canada was en route from Honolulu to Yokohama and was located at 34°31′N145°31′E / 34.51°N 145.51°E / 34.51; 145.51 . [2] After engaging in a friendly conversation with a Canadian crew member, Bilas stabbed him and two others who happened to be nearby. [1] The assailant continued to attack crew members and passengers, stabbing several from behind in the steerage and alleyways. [1] [3] Crew members searched for half an hour for Bilas before finding him in the ship's bow. [1] [3] He was restrained and arrested, with accounts differing as to whether he surrendered or was forcibly taken into custody. [1] Bilas was kept in the brig under armed guard as the ship sailed to Hong Kong, where he was charged with murder. [1] [2]

Victims

Two Chinese crew members, chief engineer Chan Yue and cabin boy Chan Ching (or Chang Ching), were killed. [1] [2] [3] Twenty-nine others were wounded. [1] As of the day after the attack, eight Japanese and nine Chinese victims were in critical condition, while two Chinese victims were feared to have been fatally wounded. [1] At least four crew members and eleven passengers were stabbed. [4]

Aftermath

In late June 1931, Bilas' trial began in Hong Kong. [2] [4] Despite the high number of casualties, he was only charged with the killing of Chan Yue. [2] The knife used in the attack and a statement made by Bilas were presented as evidence. [2] In the statement, Bilas said that he targeted Japanese passengers because he suspected that they were planning to throw him overboard. [2] The Empress of Canada's surgeon testified that he believed Bilas suffered from manic depressive psychosis, stating that Bilas was incoherent after the attack, refused food and drink, and would stand for hours in one position. [2] In July, Bilas was found insane and committed to a psychiatric hospital. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

RMS <i>Empress of Russia</i> Russian ocean liner

RMS Empress of Russia was a steam turbine ocean liner built in 1912–13 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific steamships (CP). She regularly worked the trans-Pacific route between Canada and the Far East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific Air Lines</span> Defunct airline of Canada (1942–1987)

Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian as well as international routes until it was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines and absorbed into Canadian Airlines International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong at the 1996 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Hong Kong competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, for the last time as a British territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantonese people</span> Han Chinese ethnic subgroup native to parts of Southern China

The Cantonese people or Yue people, are a Han Chinese subgroup originating from Guangzhou and its satellite cities and towns. In a more general sense "Cantonese people" can refer to any Han Chinese people originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, or it may refer to the inhabitants of Guangdong province alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CP Ships</span> Canadian shipping company

CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships from Europe to Canada. In 1914 the sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship RMS Empress of Ireland just before World War I became largest maritime disaster in Canadian history. The company provided Canadian Merchant Navy vessels in World Wars I and II. Twelve vessels were lost due to enemy action in World War II, including the RMS Empress of Britain, which was the largest ship ever sunk by a German U-boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonija Kwok</span> Canadian actress (born 1974)

Sonija Kwok Sin-nei is a Hongkonger actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who worked with TVB from 1999 to 2015. Since 2015 she has been managed by GAIA Entertainment.

RMS <i>Empress of Japan</i> (1890)

RMS Empress of Japan, also known as the "Queen of the Pacific", was an ocean liner built in 1890–1891 by Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship – the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Japan – regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1922. During the First World War she served as armed merchant cruiser, becoming HMS Empress of Japan for the period that she was a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy.

<i>Home Sweet Home</i> (2005 film) 2005 Hong Kong film

Home Sweet Home is a 2005 Hong Kong horror film directed by Cheang Pou-soi, starring Karena Lam, Shu Qi, Alex Fong and Lam Suet.

SS <i>Abyssinia</i>

SS Abyssinia was a British mail liner built in 1870, and originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route. She later served the Guion Line on the same route and the Canadian Pacific Line in the Pacific. In December 1891, Abyssinia was destroyed mid-Atlantic without loss of life by a fire that started in her cargo of cotton, highlighting the danger in carrying both cotton and passengers on the same ship.

<i>Abbot of Shaolin</i> 1979 film

Abbot of Shaolin (少林英雄榜), also known as Shaolin Abbot or A Slice of Death, is a Shaw Brothers film directed by Ho Meng Hua. It is a Shaolin Temple-themed martial arts film about their rebellion against the Qing, featuring David Chiang and Lo Lieh as Priest Pai Mei.

The "Six States Installation of Minister" murder case was a dramatic murder case that occurred in Hong Kong during the 1950s. The case was considered to be one of the most serious murder cases at the time, and was sensationalised by the media.

RMS <i>Empress of Canada</i> (1920) Ocean liner

RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1920 for the Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. This ship—the first of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Canada—regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Asian waters until 1939.

RMS <i>Empress of China</i> (1890)

RMS Empress of China was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship—the first of three CP vessels to be named Empress of China—regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until she struck an underwater reef and sank in Tokyo harbour in 1911.

RMS <i>Empress of India</i> (1890) Ocean Liner

RMS Empress of India was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships. This ship would be the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of India, and on 28 April 1891, she was the first of many ships named Empress arriving at Vancouver harbor.

Taishanese people, Sze Yup people, or Toisanese are a Yue-speaking Han Chinese group coming from Sze Yup, which consisted of the four county-level cities of Taishan, Kaiping, Xinhui and Enping. Heshan has since been added to this historic region and the prefecture-level city of Jiangmen administers all five of these county-level cities, which are sometimes informally called Ng Yap. The ancestors of Taishanese people are said to have arrived from central China under a thousand years ago and migrated into Guangdong during the Tang Dynasty. Taishanese, as a dialect of Yue Chinese, has linguistically preserved many characteristics of Middle Chinese.

<i>Handsome Siblings</i> 1992 Hong Kong film

Handsome Siblings is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film adapted from Gu Long's novel Juedai Shuangjiao. The film was directed by Eric Tsang and stars Andy Lau and Brigitte Lin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–Hong Kong relations</span> Bilateral relations

Canada and Hong Kong share a legal and political history as parts of the former British Empire, and Canada continues to maintain strong relations with Hong Kong as a special administrative region within China. The Canadian government strongly supports Hong Kong's autonomy under Chinese sovereignty in accordance with the "one country, two systems" principle as provided for in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Hong Kong Basic Law, which serves as Hong Kong's organic law.

<i>Project Gutenberg</i> (film) 2018 action film by Felix Chong

Project Gutenberg is a 2018 Hong Kong–Chinese crime thriller film written and directed by Felix Chong, starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok. The film was theatrically released on 30 September 2018 in China and on 4 October 2018 in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1 July police stabbing</span> Suicide attack in Hong Kong

A suicide attack took place at approximately 22:10 on 1 July 2021, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. 50-year-old Leung Kin-fai approached a Police Tactical Unit police officer from behind and stabbed him, injuring the officer's scapula and piercing his lung, before Leung committed suicide by stabbing his own heart. Leung was immediately subdued by surrounding police officers, who arrested him and sent him to a hospital. He died at 23:20.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "17 Liner Casualties 'Serious'". The Vancouver Sun. 6 June 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Empress of Canada Affray". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 25 June 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Honolulu Man Slashes 31 on Vessel at Sea". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 5 June 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Knifing Story Related Here". The Vancouver Sun. 3 July 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Filipino Who Ran Amuck on Empress of Canada Pronounced Insane". The Vancouver Sun. 20 July 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.