POL00043887
POL00043887
Royal Mail Group
Witness Statement
Criminal Justice Act 1967, Section 9; Magistrates Court Act 1980, sub section. 5A(3)(a) and 5B; Criminal Procedure Rules 2005, Rule 27.1
Statement of _ Jenera BEGUM
Age ifunder18 Over 18 _. (if over 18 insert ‘over 18’)
This statement (consisting of 4 Pages each signed by me) is true to the best of my
knowledge and belief. and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I
have wilfully stated in it anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.
Datedthe 22 dayof July 2009
Signature
Iam the above named person and I give this statement of my own freewill.
I was employed as a Counter Clerk at Jesmond Post Office from February 2002 to o5'"
April 2008. I was initially employed Part time before moving to full time for the last 2
years. When I was full time I worked Monday to Friday 9 to half 5, except Wednesday 9
to 1 and Saturday was the same.
The Subpostmaster was Sunil Khanna and the Manager was Peter Holmes. The only
time I seen Sunil in the Post Office was when new shelves were being fitted behind the
counter. I never seen him work there.
My main responsibilities was to serve the customers.
Peter would open the Post Office in morning and close it at night. I never did it and I
never held the keys for the office, Peter kept them in is pocket.
When I came in, in the morning at about 10 to 9 the stock and money was already in the
tills. Peter would have it all set up for us and I only had to wait and serve the customers.
If I needed more money during the day I would ask Peter and he would get it for me. I
never got it from the safe myself.
I remembered we operated a shared stock unit in the office because it said shared on the
screen.
At the end of the day I would help Dor (Doreen Corcoran) count the coin on the floor and
Peter would count the money in the safe. He would write the amount in the safe on the
Cash Declaration sheets or he would tell us the amount to write on. The money in the
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POL00043887
POL00043887
drawer was counted by everyone. We would usually enter the figures on the Horizon
together. Somebody would read them out and the other person would type them in.
Most of the time Peter would do it all himself.
The money was always declared under 6 and the foreign currency under 7. I never did'a
variance check, I never knew I could.
When we moved onto monthly balancing we did a small balance weekly and a big balance
at the period end. At the big balance I would count the coin and do the giro change cards.
Peter always counted the notes. I never asked Peter how we balanced I didn’t think I had
a right to.
My user ID for Horizon was JBEOO1 and my password was only known to me. I didn’t
know anyone else’s password.
I wasn’t aware of any problems with the Horizon system when I worked there. I was
made aware of the problem at the Post Office when I picked up Dor from Newcastle
Airport when she returned from holiday. She said there had been a shortage and that
Peter had been suspended. It is only today I have found out from Robert Daily, Post
Office Investigations that the shortage was over £46,000.
I am not responsible for any of the shortage. I never stole the money.
Signature _... Signature witnessed by
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