Ethel Proudlock case


The Ethel Proudlock case refers to Ethel Proudlock's 1911 trial for murder which took place in Kuala Lumpur, FMS. The trial became a cause célèbre scandalising British colonial society.
William Somerset Maugham wrote a short story about the case which he subsequently turned into a successful 1927 play The Letter and which in turn received several film and TV adaptions, the most well known is William Wyler's movie The Letter. In addition, it was referenced in the 1977 film East of Elephant Rock by Don Boyd.
It was the subject of a 2000 book by Eric Lawlor.

History

Ethel Proudlock

Ethel Proudlock, née Charter, was a Eurasian who married William Proudlock, acting headmaster of the prestigious Victoria Institution for boys in Kuala Lumpur, at the age of 19 in 1907.

Incident

On the evening of 23 April 1911, she was alone in the VI headmaster's bungalow while her husband dined with a fellow teacher. In the course of that evening, she shot dead William Steward, a mine manager. Steward had visited her by rickshaw and had told the rickshaw boy to wait outside. Shortly afterwards, the boy heard two shots and saw Steward stumble out of the house across the veranda followed by Proudlock carrying a revolver, who then emptied the remaining four bullets into him.
Proudlock stood trial for murder in June 1911. There was no jury, and her case was heard by a judge and two assessors. The trial lasted 10 days and attracted intense local interest. Proudlock claimed that Steward had attempted to rape her and that she was acting in self-defence. However, the judge found her guilty of murder on the basis of inconsistencies in her testimony and other circumstantial evidence and sentenced her to death.
The verdict caused a furor in the local community, prompting The Malay Mail to issue the following notice

Aftermath

Proudlock appealed the verdict and spent five months in Pudu jail awaiting her appeal. During the course of that time, a number of petitions were created for her, including one from her husband and the boys of the Victoria Institution, prompting the Sultan of Selangor to pardon her. Ethel Proudlock immediately left the colony with her three-year-old daughter for England and eventually America.
William Proudlock left soon after for England. It's not known whether he ever rejoined Ethel, but he did keep in touch. By 1931, he had moved to South Africa and ultimately to Argentina to teach at St. George's College, Quilmes. He died in 1958.