THE University of Hong Kong, frustrated by futile attempts to locate former law lecturer Jill Spruce who disappeared from the territory in the middle of a bitter court battle, can only expect a pittance of repayment from royalties by a new book partly written by her.
University staff estimate that Mrs Spruce owes about $3 million in back pay and legal fees from a case that went to the Privy Council in London. However, the university may soon be forced to end its fight for the disputed funds.
''Ultimately, either she pays us or we make the difficult decision to write it all off,'' said Jean Richards, deputy registrar of staffing at the university. ''The costs continue mounting. It's a case of throwing good money after bad.'' She estimated that costs to the university could run as high as $6 million, or double the damages awarded against Mrs Spruce by the Law Lords last year.
Friends of Mrs Spruce urged the university to take a more flexible approach to resolving a case that outraged much of the legal community and effectively ended Mrs Spruce's legal career.
''Clearly, this kind of sum would bankrupt Jill,'' said one. ''Perhaps the university would make some deal that might allow her to return to Hong Kong to work, so she could pay off the debt slowly.'' Mrs Spruce was sacked from her job as senior law lecturer at the university in July 1990 after it was revealed that she had maintained a private practice as a barrister throughout much of the 1980s. She argued that her agreement with the university allowed such a practice, but, after a change in the head of the Law Department, dismissal proceedings began in late 1988.
A bitter academic battle ensued, with the law department divided on the fine print of various university ordinances and the exact terms of employment for Mrs Spruce, who taught at the university from 1983 to 1988. Following a series of university investigations, Mrs Spruce was dismissed in 1990.