CO129-450 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [10-12] — Page 412

1

COPY.

No. 690/1918.

The Honourablə

The Colonial Treasurer,

Kowloon-Canton Railway,

British Section,

Hongkong, 16th. October, 1918.

8963

REC

406

Sir,

REG 1 TB 19

I regret to have to report that the railway pay

clerk Leung Kam Tong absconded yesterday with $3,915 of Government money in notes, and it is feared that he has got away to China.

The circumstances so far as are known, are no

follows:-

The cash to be paid into the bank amounted to

86,896.52, of which 83,915 was in notes. It was made up into four bags and was sent from the shroff's office at about 1.45 in charge of the pay clerk, an Indian Police Sergeant and four coolies. Outside the ferry pier it appears that the pay clerk gave the Indian sergeant his fare telling him that he would follow shortly and he came back in the direction of the office while the

rest of the party with the exception of one other man who appears

to have been an accomplice and held the bag containing the notes, went on to the ferry and crossed over to the bank, arriving there

soon after 2 p.m.

At about 4.25 p.m. I was called up by the bank and

informed that our men were still waiting there with the money but that no one had yet turned up to pay it in. I immediately sent the shroff to go over to fetch the cash back as I did not know at that time whether the notes were missing or not and only had my

suspicions. I then telephoned the Honourable Captain Superintend- -ant of Police giving him all the information I could.

Mr. Morris who was just leaving for Military duties, then turned up so I sent him to the Bank too and he phoned me from there that the shroff had arrived and taken the