Mr. Pean Young-foo testified on his own behalf and was cross-examined by counsel for the defence before Judge M. J. Helmick, in the U.S. Court for China yesterday morning, when hearing was continued in the case of Mr. Pean Young-foo vs. the China Foreign Trading Corporation. Mr. Pean, who is suing the American company for payments allegedly due for his work as contractor in the construction of a waterworks plant in Tsinan, gave evidence concerning the figures contained in his list of expenditure which had been presented to the defendants for payment.
During the course of his evidence, the plaintiff stated that his estimate of the total expenses incurred in building of the waterworks, construction of which ceased according to the defence in October, 1937 before the plant was completed, included no figures representing his own profit in the work. He also testified that to the best of his knowledge the estimate was a true one and not too high as. claimed by the defence.
When questioned as to his reasons for undertaking the work when he was to receive no compensation, Mr. Pean stated that he is a good friend of Mr. Zuen, the supervising engineer who testified for the defence the previous day, and that he had consented to do the work not for profit, but for consideration in the form of future employment. Mr. Pean denied to the court that the ten per cent. added to the list of expenditures, computed so as to include all actual costs for purchase and transportation of building materials, represented any profit for himself. The plaintiff stated that this such was needed for various extra expenses which must always be met by the contractor.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.