I have examined the case very carefully and I am satisfied that the time taken to pay the arrears of salary was not unreasonable, bearing in mind all the procedures that had to be complied with. Indeed, the Hong Kong Secretary for the Civil Service appears to have gone out of his way to try to speed up the process. He personally arranged for one of his senior staff to give Mrs Penhearow all the help she needed. went with her to the Treasury in Hong Kong to help her obtain letters of administration, and he cleared her visit to the Probate Office of the High Court by advance telephone calls.
This officer
The Secretary for the Civil Service has also pointed out that the Hong Kong Government have already treated Mrs Penhearow more generously in a number of respects than they were strictly required to do under the terms of her husband's appointment. For example, they paid for her daughter and grand- daughter to fly back with her when she returned to England, and they also paid for a hire car to take
These her from Heathrow to her home in Dorset. extra expenses came to nearly £400 altogether.
On the other hand, the Hong Kong authorities do accept that there was a delay in paying the tax refund, and particularly in view of the fact that the over- charging was the result of a mistake in the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department in the first place, they have decided to make Mrs Penhearow an ex gratia payment of £50 in acknowledgement of the loss that she suffered as a result. I believe she will by now have received a cheque for this amount from the Hong Kong Government Office in London.
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