It was an obscure murder Lew Fook committed.

According to the August 11, 1901 edition of the San Francisco Call and Post, Lew Fook, a 40-year-old cook living in the city, did not react after he drew a life sentence for the murder of Wong Yuen a year and a half earlier.

According to records, Lew Fook was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Lawlor for the murder, which was committed on the evening of January 6, 1900.

It’s not clear why it took until June 1901 to try and convict Fook, as many witnesses saw the murder occur.  Fook, Wong Yuen, and others were in the basement of 28½ Waverley place on the night of January 6, 1900. Fook approached Wong Yuen and demanded, “I want you to go to work.”

Wong Yuen protested, “I want to go to supper first.”

To which Lew Fook retorted:  “I want you to work in a graveyard,” and immediately shot Wong Yuen.

I’m sure there was more to the story between Lew Fook and Wong Yuen, but from what little we know, my sympathies are all with Wong Yuen. People do crazy things when they’re hungry. Everything may have gone much smoother if Lew Fook would have just given the guy a sandwich.

There is also some evidence that perhaps Lew Fook just had difficulty interacting with other people. The Friday before he was sentenced, another man named Huey Mon was arrested on a murder charge and put in the same cell in the San Francisco county jail with Fook. “The two quarreled and Huey Mon nearly killed Lew Fook.”