140
51
no Accountant General's inspection of my accounts since the liberation. This I take it is due, as in the case of the analogous omission on the part of the Audit Dept., to shortage of staff.
8.
In my investigation, and in compiling this report, I have received the fullest possible co-operation from Mr. Wake- field who, I am confident, will be very much on his guard for some time to come. I must however enter the caveat that no busy Administrative Officer who has not time to give full attention to accounts can be sure of not succumbing to carefull y-planned fraud.
9.
10.
a)
b)
c)
a)
As to J.T. Wakefield.
I admit the charges laid against me, in Section V & VII of this report, having given the D ̧O.N.T., Mr. J. Barrow, my fullest co-operation in its compilation.
I freely admit that the standard of my work as to Accounts has been most inefficient and that, until the unfortunate occurrence of the loss of the money, I had the briefest knowledge of the running of Government Accounts, and had Chung II been a cleverer man than he was, could have got away with still far
more.
I admit that on at least one previous occasion in 1945/46 I was warned by the DO.N.T. (Mr. J. Barrow), that I should be more careful where public money was concerned.
I have always had a positive dislike of Accounts in any dealings in money and openly admit that the manner in which I keep my personal accounts is most deplor- able.
However, both in assisting in compiling the foregoing report and in supervision of the Accounts in this office insce the 11th May, I have come, far more, to understand the procedure of dealing with public monies and dare to say no further slip involving losses of public money will get by me, excepting of course a carefully-planned fraud.
We feel very strongly that we have been let down by the Clerk i/c Accounts, Mr. Au-Yeung, who appears to us to have shown such a degree of irresponsibility as to suggest connivance at the fraud.
11.
Chun Yiu Kei
We attach a Table, compiled by Mr. (Chung I), Executive Officer, Grade II, who by my orders took charge of the accounts from Mr. Au-Yeung, soon after the discovery of the loss.
12.
If it should appear that there is the slightest impli- cation of negligence against Mr. Gordon Williams, the new D.0. Taipo, that implication is quite unintentional: he has only just taken over, and obviously cannot be expected to share any responsibility for what has occured.
sgd: J. Barrow,
J.T. Wakefield,
26.5.48