Corruption inquiry witness is found DEAD in an office two days after he gave evidence about seeing a $10,000 cash payment being exchanged
A former councillor who gave evidence against three of his colleagues before NSW’s anti-corruption watchdog has been found dead in his office.
Clifton Wong, who served on Hurstville City Council from 1999 to 2012, was found by emergency services in a Sydney inner-west office complex, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Clifton Wong, 62, was giving testimony about alleged corruption at Sydney’s Hurstville Council
The time of death is thought to be about was about 1.20pm on Wednesday
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances in the 62-year-old man’s death.
Wong was appearing before a probe into former Hurstville and Georges River councillors Con Hindi and Vince Badalati, and former Hurstville councillor Philip Sansom and their dealings with developers.
Two days ago Wong told the Independent Commission Against Corruption he witnessed a developer hand then-deputy mayor Con Hindi mayor $10,000 to help with a potential development.
Wong expressed remorse when asked why he hadn’t said anything at the time.
‘I didn’t know how to respond. I wish I had reported it back then, but I didn’t, and now I regret [it],’ he said.
‘This sort of thing, I know very well that it is not only immoral, it is illegal,’ Wong said.
Wong’s barrister, Stephen Stanton told the Sydney Morning Herald that Wong had shown bravery.
‘He was courageous in terms of the evidence he gave to the commission that’s on the public record,’ Stanton said.
‘He was, as far as I was concerned, an honourable fellow.’
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