The 1922 Carter's Hill Chinese Laundry Murders

A Massacre in St. John's

Wo Fen Game

May 3, 1922. It started with a simple business dispute. It ended in a bloodbath.

A warm spring evening in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The sun was beginning to set over Carter’s Hill, casting long shadows over the small, unassuming laundry owned by Jim Lee. It was the kind of place that had seen the hands of hard labor—the scent of soap, steam rising from boiling water, and the rhythmic slap of wet linens hitting the washboards. The men who worked here were no strangers to long hours and meager pay, but it was their only means of survival in a country that had never truly welcomed them.

Inside, four Chinese men were going about their work—Hong Kim Hi, Hong Leon, So Ho Ki, and another whose name has since been lost to history. They had no way of knowing that one of their own was about to turn on them in the most brutal way imaginable.

His name was Wo Fen Game.

A former employee, he had worked at Jim Lee’s laundry before, but things had turned sour. The reason? Money. Power. Betrayal.

Wo Fen Game was owed wages, or at least, that’s what he claimed. But this wasn’t just about money. This was personal. A feud that had started thousands of miles away in China had followed them across the ocean. Wo Fen Game and the victims were all from the same region in China, where family feuds ran deep. It was said that an unresolved dispute had festered between them for years—one involving family honor, old debts, and long-held grudges.

Jim Lee, the laundry owner, had reportedly sided with the victims, refusing to pay Wo Fen Game the wages he believed he was owed. Some said this was about discipline and business ethics, while others whispered that it was about something much deeper—an old grudge carried from China, one that Wo Fen Game could not let go of.

The interior of Jim Lee Laundry

Rising Anti-Chinese Sentiment in St. John's

The climate for Chinese immigrants in St. John’s was already tense. Across the city, Chinese workers were often met with hostility and discrimination. One example? The harassment of Mr. Tong Lee on Prescott Street.

Just days before the Carter’s Hill murders, a gang of local boys—dubbed the "bad boys of Prescott Street"—began targeting Mr. Tong Lee, a newly arrived Chinese laundryman. On Saturday night, they threw stones at his business, shattering his windows. This was more than just youthful mischief; it was an act of intimidation. The incident was reported to the police the following day, but little was done. Meanwhile, Tong Lee’s cousin had just arrived in St. John’s by the Bruce, stepping into a city where Chinese workers lived in constant fear of hostility.

There were several other descriptions in local newspapers at the time detailing robberies, physical attacks, and verbal assaults on Chinese immigrants. Some articles also reported arrests of Chinese men for crimes like robbery and assault, further shaping a negative public perception. Additionally, the community suffered from influenza outbreaks and deaths, which compounded their hardships.

A city Medical Health Officer, Inspector O’Brien, wrote a report in 1906 describing the poor living conditions of Chinese immigrants. He cited open sewers, lack of clean water, and festering garbage found in laundries. However, Chinese laundromat owners Kim Lee and Tom Lee publicly refuted the report, arguing that their living conditions were sanitary, well-ordered, and not overcrowded. Nevertheless, racial biases remained strong, and in 1920, a private citizen wrote to the Evening Herald opposing the establishment of Chinese laundries in his area, citing the risk of fire hazards to nearby buildings.

Being unable to speak English would have caused significant confusion for new immigrants, leading to misunderstandings with local officials. There were numerous instances where a Chinese community member had to act as a translator in legal matters. For example, when Jim Lee was robbed in 1907, he took Tong Lee to the police station to serve as his interpreter.

Chinese Immigrants in Wabana

The Chinese presence in Newfoundland was not limited to St. John’s. Chinese workers also settled in Wabana, on Bell Island, drawn by employment opportunities in the bustling iron ore mining industry. Though they were not directly involved in mining, many Chinese immigrants ran laundries and small businesses that catered to the miners and their families. Life in Wabana was no easier than in St. John’s—Chinese workers faced harsh working conditions, social exclusion, and frequent discrimination. Local accounts from the time describe how Chinese business owners were often harassed, their businesses vandalized, and their wages undercut. Despite this, they remained a vital part of the economic fabric, providing essential services to the growing mining community. Their resilience in the face of adversity reflected the broader struggles of Chinese immigrants across Newfoundland.

The Massacre