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Luisa Tam

A toddler with a bathtub in tow being sent to hospital in Australia and Hong Kong hosting an international rock concert for refugees made the headlines four decades ago this week.
July 1, 1979
● Detectives raided a North Point flat believed to be used by a notorious triad society for recruiting young schoolchildren. Members of the “Ngai Group” of the 14K triad society had been renting out the flat in Kam Ping Street for parties. Some of the youngsters who attended the parties were either intimidated or lured into joining the society.
● Deputies to the session of China’s National People’s Congress expressed satisfaction that “an additional 7.5 million people would find jobs in China” that year. The New China News Agency said the figure was nearly double the aggregate number of newly employed in the previous nine years.

July 2, 1979
● Hong Kong could be host to a massive charity concert with top international stars such as George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Linda Ronstadt. An American record producer had asked the United Nations to back the project, which he hoped would raise millions of dollars for Vietnamese refugees.
● A four-year hunt finally ended with the arrest of one of Hong Kong’s 10 most wanted men. Mak Chung, 26, was on the wanted list in connection with a HK$7.2 million bank robbery outside the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom on August 5, 1975.

July 3, 1979
● The captain and chief engineer of a Greek freighter vigorously denied they had accepted gold from Vietnamese refugees to smuggle them out of the country. They said they had no idea how the 69 Vietnamese got on board the ship.
July 4, 1979
● An Australian woman was giving her 15-month-old son a bath when he got three of his fingers stuck in the drain. After firefighters, paramedics and a doctor, who were called to the scene, were unable to free the boy, the toddler with the bathtub in tow were sent to hospital in an ambulance. Doctors later called in a plumber who eventually removed the plug fitting from the boy’s fingers.
● A photograph of Pope John Paul II had appeared for the first time in a mainland Chinese magazine in a move that revealed a more liberal official attitude towards religion.

July 5, 1979
● Legal action had been launched in London to seize corrupt former Hong Kong policeman Peter Godber’s cottage and a joint bank account, Attorney General John Griffiths said. The Hong Kong government was still unsure of the whereabouts of Godber and his wife as well as their other assets in Britain.

July 6, 1979
● Iran announced the nationalisation of its main industries still in private hands, saying it wanted to end dependence on foreign capitalism. The decision was seen as “yet another gift to the barefoot people of Iran”. This followed the nationalisation of banks and insurance firms in the previous month. The move was the most sweeping economic measure announced since the Shah was swept from power in February that year.
July 7, 1979
● The British government announced a pay rise of 70 per cent for members of parliament, who were among the worst paid politicians in the Western world. The increase, to be paid in three stages, would raise an MP’s yearly salary from £7,000 to £12,000 by 1981.

Remember A Day looks at significant news and events reported by the Post during this week in history


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Old Hong Kong

Most wanted manhunt ends, toddler trapped in bath and Iranian nationalisation: headlines from 40 years ago

The 1976 film Million Dollars Snatch retold the story of a HK$7.2 million bank robbery outside the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom a year earlier. Photo: qq.com

AWREAR 1979 machine shop worker on drill press at Qinghua University in Beijing. Image shot 1976. Exact date unknown. Photo:Alamy

BNGWEY UK, England, London, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, 1970s. Photo:Alamy

E11RF0 Oct. 10, 1979 - Pope John Paul II addressed the General Assembly at the United Nations today. Photo:Alamy

Former Police Chief Superintendent Peter Godber (left), who fled to Britain in 1973 during an investigation into the sources of his wealth, is handcuffed and brought to the Victoria District Court to face charges of corruption. Godber was the Deputy District Commander for Kowloon. An internal investigation last year revealed that this senior police officer had managed to skim off HK$4.3 million, or about six times his total net salary during his twenty years of police service. 22jan75

News

Hong Kong

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Comment

A journey back through time to look at significant news and events reported by the South China Morning Post from this week in history


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Chinese history

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


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Remember A Day

Remember A Day | Most wanted manhunt ends, toddler trapped in bath and Iranian nationalisation: headlines from 40 years ago

A journey back through time to look at significant news and events reported by the South China Morning Post from this week in history