Heartbroken widow of postmaster who took his own life after being caught up in ... trends now
The widow of a postmaster who took his own life hours after Post Office investigators raided his branch has been refused a compensation payout.
Jayakanthan Sivasubramaniam, 35, was investigated by the Post Office after he was accused of stealing £179,000 from his Putney branch during the Horizon scandal in 2005, according to The Times.
His heartbroken wife, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed two investigators visited the shop on March 4 and raided their financial documents, before locking the couple out completely.
Later that day, she returned to home, after attending a family birthday party with their two children, to find her husband's body in the attic.
But, almost twenty years after Mr Sivasubramaniam's death, his widow has been denied any compensation payout, with the Post Office claiming she is not entitled to compensation as it was her husband who held the contract with the company.
Jayakanthan Sivasubramaniam, 35, took his own life after he was accused of stealing £179,000 from his Putney Post Office branch during the Horizon scandal in 2005
More than 900 sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting between 1999 and 2015 due to faults in Fujitsu's Horizon system. Pictured: Some of the convicted postmasters celebrate as their convictions are quashed in 2021
The widow told The Times: 'My poor husband was not given the chance to prove his side, and took his own life.'
She added that on the day after her husband's death, their home in New Malden was raided by Post Office investigators.
In the weeks that followed, the Post Office continued to investigate the family and even sent the woman letters urging her to repay the 'missing' money, she claims.
In order to pay for the shortfalls, the woman took out several bank loans, remortgaged their £350,000 home, sold their properties abroad and traded in £14,000 worth of jewellery.
In 2020, her account was sent to the House of Commons business committee as formal evidence.
In August of that year, she submitted a claim to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme
She was reportedly told by the Post Office: The relevant contract was held by the company and not [the wife] and therefore the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) does not extend to her claim.
'The panel has no reason to doubt that the audit and what it uncovered had a profound impact on Mr Jayakanthan (sic) and resulted in him sadly taking his own life.'
For more than two decades, sub-postmasters complained Fujitsu's Horizon system was faulty (Stock image)
The shocking injustice was thrown back into the spotlight in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, based on campaigner Alan Bates's bid for justice
The panel which decides on claims for the Horizon scandal said it was 'sympathetic' about the 'state of affairs that transpired after the audit and untimely death of Mr Jayakanthan (sic) in March 2005'.
But it added: 'While there is no doubt that what happened on those days resulted in severe financial consequences for the company’s financial affairs, and the affairs of Mr Jayakanthan’s estate, in light of the panel’s conclusions that the discrepancies identified at the audit were not Horizon shortfalls, the panel has concluded that none of the above losses can be
