Wong Sau Ying | |
|---|---|
黃素英 | |
 Wong (c. 1925) | |
| Born | c. 1898 China |
| Died | 25 March 1927 (aged around 28–29) Pudu Prison, Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya |
| Other names | Wong Sang |
| Movement | Anarchism |
| Motive | Unclear |
| Criminal charge | Attempted murder |
| Penalty | 10 years imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Date | 23 January 1925 |
| Country | British Malaya |
| Location(s) | Chinese Protectorate, Kuala Lumpur |
| Injured | 2–3[a] |
| Weapons | Improvised explosive device |
| Imprisoned at | Pudu Prison |
Wong Sau Ying (Chinese: 黃素英;[b] c. 1898 – 1927), also known by her alias Wong Sang,[c] was a Chinese anarchist, known for her attempt to assassinate colonial officials in British Malaya.
Born in Imperial China, she moved in 1919 to British Malaya, where she became involved in the Malayan anarchist movement. Her lover, a Malayan anarchist, was deported by the British authorities and shot by order of the Chinese authorities. By 1925, she was plotting to assassinate Laurence Guillemard, the British High Commissioner of Malaya, but missed her opportunity. She then went to the Chinese Protectorate in Kuala Lumpur, where she detonated a bomb, injuring a colonial official and herself.
Her trial became a spectacle, in part due to the fixation of both the press and the British administration on her bob cut. She was reported to have smiled calmly through the proceedings, pleading guilty and refusing to explain her actions. Although the prosecution understood her to have had vague anarchist political motivations, the British authorities were unable to provide a clear explanation for her motives. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, where she committed suicide by hanging.
In the wake of the bombing case, the Malayan anarchist movement came under heavy political repression, severely weakening it. Chinese women with bob cuts also came under suspicion, as press and state authorities began to associate the haircut with anarchist political motivations.
- ^ Yong 1997, p. 32.
- ^ Harper 2021, p. 508.
- ^ Zakuan 2022, p. 23.
- ^ Harper 2021, p. 512; Yong 1991, p. 629.
- ^ Harper 2021, p. 512.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).