Witness denies knowledge of some cheques drawn in his name

Mandeville, Manchester:

When the 15th witness in the Manchester Municipal Corporation multi-million-dollar fraud trial took the stand on Wednesday, he confirmed that he was temporarily employed by the corporation, but claimed he had no knowledge of some cheques that bore his name.

The witness revealed that he was employed by a friend to do work on the house of the accused, former Deputy Superintendent of Roads and Works Sanja Elliott. The witness told the court that he did all the transactions concerning that work with the friend who hired him.

Later, he confirmed that he was employed by Elliott, once, at the then parish council to do carpentry work; making and installing doorjamb for the Manchester Infirmary.

He said he was also employed by two other persons at the then parish council..

When cross-examined, the witness revealed that he and Elliott are distant relatives. He later stated that they had never engaged in any high-level communication.

Outlining the procedure before payment for work is made, the witness said a member of the then parish council would come to the location and make note of all the work that had been done and have the worker affirm by signing.

The witness said that he would collect a cheque from the council’s main office after presenting his identification card.

When the prosecution presented the witness with two cheques bearing his name and asked whether he had done the work stated and had endorsed the cheque, his response was “no”.

The witness insisted that he had never supplied water on behalf of the then council; never done any roadwork or drafted an invoice claiming for these jobs. He also claimed he never collected cheques, endorsed and/or encashed them.

One member of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency was recalled to the witness stand on Wednesday and is expected to return on Friday to complete cross-examination.