Tuaran gets new police barracks
Published on: Saturday, April 10, 2021
By: British North Borneo Herald
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Scenes from the past: Shops in Kota Kinabalu (Jesselton) partly destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War. Pic courtesy of Australian War Memorial. (for illustration only)
The players still have to dodge holes and flags and play is stopped many times while some independent spectator dashes onto the field and retrieves the ball from a muddy hollow. Enthusiasm, however, has not diminished, so by slow stages we hope to attain something like efficiency.
The new Police barracks are now completed and form a distinct asset to Tuaran architecture by their neat appearance. They are not yet occupied but nearly all the unmarried policemen have recently celebrated hasty marriages in the anticipation of the delight of jiving in the new building.
Unfortunately the taukis who have interests in the new shop lots at Tuaran instructed their contractors to make many structure alterations not in accordance with the approved plans, with the result that they now have to dismantle a great part before they are allowed to occupy.
With the re-introduction of Cattle Passes in the Tuaran District there has been a noticeable drop in reports of missing buffaloes, a state of affairs we hope continues.
Below the office on Mondays and Thursdays, terror stricken animals can be seen plunging about while the brander, with a wicked gleam in his eye, holds the red hot branding iron aloft, prior to stabbing it on a poor beast. It has been said that some of the owners have been watching proceedings with tears in their eyes but the writer is unable to grant credence to this report.
Recently the death occurred of Orang Tua Impas’ wife. During the funeral proceedings, when it is apparently customary to make as much noise as possible, a native brass cannon took pride of place among the noise contraptions. Gunpowder from Chinese crackers was poured into the barrel and brave men stood round the mouth and rammed it down hard with pieces of bamboo.
Twice the cannon was successfully fired, but the third time it exploded without warning and four men were very badly injured.
Early last month a native dashed into the Tuaran office and breathlessly detailed an account of a murder which had been committed at a kampong three days distant from Tuaran.
Subsequently police patrols were sent out to catch the offender but met with no success. Many and varied were the theories as to where he had gone, and as to what he had done — suicide — last seen in Sandakan etc etc.
It was a very surprised sentry who received a visitor one evening at about 9 p.m. who casually sat down on a seat in the guard room and admitted his guilt.
The alleged murderer said he was tired of hiding in the jungle and suffering from pangs of hunger and though he would fare much better in prison.
So when his name and address and statement had been taken and he had been told that anything he said would be taken down as evidence, he related his story.
While the police patrol were searching the jungle for him he was playing hide and seek behind the trees, listening to everything they were saying and as he said, “chuckling to himself at his cleverness,” in eluding such experienced searchers, and thoroughly enjoying himself.
It remains to be seen, however, whether his sense of humour still stands him in good stead at his trial.
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