1857: Two Men Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the Brutal Murder of a Brothel Madam
On a wet, cloudy night in 1857, Chong Sigh and Hing Tzan entered the brothel of Sophia Lewis on Exhibition Street, in Melbourne, intending to rob and murder her.
Chong Sigh cut the sleeping woman’s throat, but the first wound was not fatal. Hing Tzan held her down while a second, deeper cut was made. When Lewis moved again, Hing Tzan returned to her and, according to the men’s later confession, almost severed her head from her body.
The pair then plundered the room and slipped away into the night, narrowly avoiding a constable on his beat before eventually scattering to Geelong and Ballarat.
Both men were arrested, confessed and were convicted of murder. Their statements confirmed that Chong Sigh had conceived the plot, with robbery as the motive, while Hing Tzan carried out the final fatal attack.
At Melbourne Gaol, the two men presented a striking contrast on the scaffold. Chong Sigh was overcome with emotion and cried loudly, while Hing Tzan remained comparatively composed and appeared to chant a prayer. Hing Tzan briefly resisted when the execution cap was placed over his head, apparently fearing that his hair was about to be cut, but quickly became calm. Both men were hanged on 3 September 1857.
