When wife with a double life vanished, leaving a stash of cash from gambling, Hong Kong civil servant was accused of living beyond his means
- Hong Kong civil servant Clive Holgate was accused of maintaining a standard of living beyond his salary when his wife vanished, leaving behind a mass of money
- The wife, a former Wan Chai bar girl with a secret lover, was a heavy gambler, a court heard, and Holgate said some of his unexplained money was from her stash
“Clive Holgate was unaware that his wife was living a double life until she suddenly vanished without trace,” reported the South China Morning Post on October 7, 1995.
“The former Wan Chai hostess was said to have had a secret lover, with whom she co-owned a flat. When she was not with her boyfriend, Pauline Holgate’s time was dominated by her second passion, gambling.
“The court heard that her days were often consumed with horse racing, her nights with high stakes mahjong games. To cover her gambling debts, she would borrow tens of thousands of dollars from friends and acquaintances.
“In January 1992, Pauline Holgate vanished, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars scattered about her bedroom. Her husband, accused of maintaining a standard of living beyond his official salary [as a government building surveyor], claimed that some of his unexplained money [more than HK$200,000] was taken from his missing wife’s handbag.
“The 53-year-old […] has pleaded not guilty to the charge [of taking bribes]. A former acquaintance testified yesterday that the 40-year-old Mrs Holgate, née Sham Po-ling, had worked in a Wan Chai bar when she became involved with the building surveyor. The two married after she gave birth to the surveyor’s son.
“The acquaintance, Yeung Kum-chun, described the former hostess as a ‘very clever woman’ who was ‘very keen on money’. Ms Yeung said Holgate was unaware that his wife had taken a lover. Holgate spent most of his evenings drinking at the yacht club where he was a member, the court heard.”
On June 27, 1996, the Post reported that “Clive Holgate won millions of dollars in court costs yesterday after a lawyer accused the ICAC [Independent Commission Against Corruption] of botching the case. The Appeal Court ruling means taxpayers will pick up the tab for the civil servant’s lengthy corruption trial.”
