Aweek before the last British soldier marched out of Hong Kong, the Commander British Forces sold his official holiday residence to a major hong.
In August 1995, Major-General Bryan Hawkins Dutton, CBE, paid $10 for the comfortable bungalow set in idyllic surroundings on a private headland in Sai Kung country park. In June 1997, a subsidiary of Swire paid him $9.28 million for it.
The sale of Wardhaven, in Long Bay, Sai Kung, has sparked a controversy now that details have come to light through an investigation by the South China Morning Post. Legislative Councillor Andrew Wong Wang-fat, whose constituency covers the area, demands an explanation from the Government about how the land was sold to a British soldier in the first place. He also wants the Ministry of Defence in London to account for the money.
According to a highly placed source, the cash was sent to Britain, where it has been spent on army-linked charities. None of it appears to have been distributed to charities in Hong Kong.
The Ministry of Defence's official answer to questions, relayed through the British Consulate in Hong Kong, is: 'Nobody can tell you what happened to the money. The only person who knows is in the Falkland Islands.' Other questions have gone unanswered. Former Governor Chris Patten has not answered faxes on the issue and Executive Councillors from the 1997 era refuse to discuss the matter.
The saga goes back to 1972 when the land was originally granted to the-then CBF Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Ward. The Government approved the sale for a token sum and helped change land use and the area of the property for the express purpose of building a holiday facility for senior military officers.