Stole £1,200

Remarkable Career of Educated Young Tongan

Nukualofa. Apr. 2.

WHAT is believed to be the biggest theft on record of Government funds by a Tongan was revealed after Uliti Balu, a clerk at the Treasury, Nukua lofa, was convicted at the Supreme Court and sentenced to three years’ imprison ment for perjury.

Uliti Balu was a brilliant young Tongan. He was educated, first, at the local Tutaou College, and then was sent to New ington College, Sydney. His edu cation cost the Tongan Govern ment about £750.

For several years, he had been em ployed in the Trea sury, and had sole charge of the Gov ernment Savings Bank Department, apparently without any complete super vision being ex ercised. Uliti not only received and paid out deposits, but actually kept

the Savings Bank Ledger in which all transactions should be recorded. Extend ing over a period of five years, this brilli ant Tongan filched from these funds, over which he apparently was allowed sole control, a total of £1,214/18/-.

The discovery came about in a curious way. Uliti was attending the Supreme Court, to defend a charge against him of perjury, arising out of supplying drink to Tongans at Christmas time. Dur ing his absence from the Treasury a de positor was inconsiderate enough to pre sent to the clerk, doing Uliti’s duty, a withdrawal slip for a sum far in excess of the depositor’s credit, as shown in the ledger—although the depositor’s own book showed a credit double the desired with drawal.

A startled staff then discovered what had been going on.

Meanwhile, Uliti was convicted of per jury and sentenced. Presumably, he will be brought from gaol to answer the charge of theft.

The fact that these thefts had been going on for years, and might have con tinued indefinitely but for an accident, has led to serious public criticism being dir ected against the manner in which the Treasurer (who also is Controller of Cus toms and a Cabinet Minister) has main tained control over his department.

Mr. A. Cowley writes in reference to this matter. He noints out that the Ton gan Government not only loses £2,000 (amount of theft, plus cost of educating Uliti), but also loses much more—namely, a bad failure in its experiment of train ing young Tongans to take responsible administrative posts. Mr. Cowley says that if the Treasurer’s Department had been efficiently controlled, this young Tongan might have been saved from the mis demeanours which have led to his down fall, and to the discrediting, in part, of the Tongan system of superior educa tion.

Uliti Balu