As deadline passes…
Chief Constable fails to provide report on missing stocks
CHIEF Constable of the Mayor and City Council, Andrew Foo has reportedly failed to produce an inventory requested by acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba regarding missing stocks, including monies at the City Constabulary after the deadline passed on Monday last.
Town Clerk (ag) Carol Sooba)
Sooba said that after it was reported that several hundred thousand dollars were missing from the Constabulary, she requested a report from Foo so as to investigate and address the matter.
Chief Constable Andrew Foo
Subsequently, Lance Corporal Compton Joseph, who was being sought in connection with the missing money, committed suicide the following week. Prior to this, however, efforts to contact Joseph proved futile after Foo had reported that he had absconded from work.
As a result, Sooba demanded an immediate stock check of the stores by Foo, which would have revealed what was missing from the department. She noted too that Foo is the only other person other than Joseph who had access to the stores.
Documents which were presented to this publication by the acting Town Clerk proved that she had written Foo on Tuesday, June 17, which was the first of three requests, requesting that a report be submitted to her. This was followed by a second letter on June 30 and the final one on July 30, one month after the second letter.
According to the acting Town Clerk in her letter, after she had requested the report from Foo, he “impolitely replied that she must ask the Administrative Office for the report.” This, the acting Town Clerk is contending, was an unacceptable response from the Chief Constable since finances of the cash-strapped City Hall are of high importance.
The Chief Constable in a letter dated July 30, however responded to the acting Town Clerk, advising her that on July 29, he was at the doctor and so Superintendent Bailey would meet with her to discuss pending issues of the City Constabulary Department. He made it known that after returning to office at 13:30hrs, he advised Sooba that he was not well and could not have met with her.
“The tyrannical approach taken by you in attempting to impose your will, by instructing in writing, that I must attend a meeting with you at 10:00 hrs on Wednesday July 30, and the threat of disciplinary action is obvious of your irrational disposition,” Foo’s letter stated.
On Monday last, Sooba explained that Foo had failed to present the report after six weeks. She stressed that the deadline for the report was on or before the same day (Monday, August 4) at 16:00hrs and even this request was not respected by Foo.
One of the letters to Foo had stated that failure to comply will bring disciplinary actions against him.