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Wednesday 3 February 2010
Tony Chan loses battle for Wang’s fortune
The High Court on Tuesday threw out fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen’s claim for the estimated HK$100 billion fortune of late property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum after a sensational court battle.
The High Court on Tuesday threw out fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen’s claim for the estimated HK$100 billion fortune of late property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum after a sensational court battle.
Mr. Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon said a will in the possession of Tony Chan was a fake, and ruled in favour of a rival claim to her estated by a charity now run by Wang’s siblings.
“The court finds that the 2006 will was not signed by Nina,” the judge wrote in his ruling on the case known as the “Battle of the Wills” that has gripped the tycoon-obsessed city.
Wang, who was at one stage was Asia’s richest woman, died of cancer in April 2007 at the age of 69, triggering a bitter feud between Chan and the charity both claiming they were entitled to her massive fortune.
The judge ruled in favour of Wang’s Chinachem Charitable Foundation, saying a 2002 will held by her siblings “truly reflected the long-held intention on the part of Nina to leave her estate to charity”.
Chan’s lawyers, who had previously warned that he could face criminal fraud charges if his will was deemed a forgery, said they would appeal.
Chan’s lawyer Jonathan Midgley told reporters his client was “extremely disappointed” with Tuesday’s ruling.
“But he appreciates how difficult this sort of trial is and will make an appeal,” Midgley said.
Chinachem Charitable Foundation lawyer Keith Ho Man-kei said the foundation was delighted with the ruling.
“The 2002 will is now regarded as the valid will and the entire estate of Nina Wang will be inherited by the foundation,” he said.
Wang’s surviving brother, Dr Kung Yan-sum, also said he was “very happy”.
“And I think the majority of the people are happy. The money will be used to support charity work,” Kung said.
Kung and younger sisters Kung Yan-sum and Kung Chung-sum and their lawyers later appeared at a press conference.
“Today’s judgment showed that there is justice in the world,”said Kung, who with his sisters, is on the board of the foundation,
“We will try our best to operate the foundation according to my late sister’s will and provide money to help those in need,” he said.
Kung said if Tony Chan filed an appeal, the foundation was confident of winning.
Keith Ho said that following Tuesday’s judgment, the foundation had the right to claim legal fees from Chan. But he did not disclose the amount.
He said there were a number of legal procedures needed to transfer Nina Wang’s fortune to the foundation. This could take several months. But if Chan filed an appeal, these procedures would be delayed further.
The case featured a heady mix of sex, family secrets and Wang’s fascination with fung shui.
Wang used fung shui in a fruitless bid to find her husband Teddy who was kidnapped in 1990 but whose body has never been found.
The probate case filled the front pages of Hong Kong’s media for weeks after it first opened in May last year, with the court hearing from 36 witnesses.
The charity’s lawyers accused Chan of being a charlatan who duped the eccentric billionaire, arguing that Wang did not have the mental capacity to execute the alleged will because of her health problems.
Lam acknowledged that Chan, 50, and Wang had carried on a love affair, but rejected his claim that she wanted him in charge of her sprawling property empire.
“When Nina made he 2002 will, her relationship with [Chan] did not cause her to give him her estate,” he wrote.
“As far as her estate was concerned, she placed a higher regard on her charitable objectives than [Chan].”
Wang, the judge said, had wanted to keep the affair a secret.
“She wanted it buried together with her after her death,” he wrote.
The famously frugal billionaire, known for wearing pigtails and miniskirts, won a separate legal battle with her father-in-law for control of her late husband’s estate just two years before her own death.
The charity was named after the business empire Chinachem Group set up by her husband, who was declared legally dead in 1999.
Wang’s thrifty nature - she preferred cheap brands and fried chicken to designer clothes and five-star restaurants - was widely documented by Hong Kong’s media, which nicknamed her “Little Sweetie” because of her resemblance to a Japanese comic character.
Wang rarely went to malls and had most of her clothes and handbags made by friends.
Lam did not deliver the ruling in court, but a summary of his 300-page judgment was handed out to the media.
2 comments:
Tony Chan loses battle for Wang’s fortune
Agence France-Presse
02 February 2010
The High Court on Tuesday threw out fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen’s claim for the estimated HK$100 billion fortune of late property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum after a sensational court battle.
Mr. Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon said a will in the possession of Tony Chan was a fake, and ruled in favour of a rival claim to her estated by a charity now run by Wang’s siblings.
“The court finds that the 2006 will was not signed by Nina,” the judge wrote in his ruling on the case known as the “Battle of the Wills” that has gripped the tycoon-obsessed city.
Wang, who was at one stage was Asia’s richest woman, died of cancer in April 2007 at the age of 69, triggering a bitter feud between Chan and the charity both claiming they were entitled to her massive fortune.
The judge ruled in favour of Wang’s Chinachem Charitable Foundation, saying a 2002 will held by her siblings “truly reflected the long-held intention on the part of Nina to leave her estate to charity”.
Chan’s lawyers, who had previously warned that he could face criminal fraud charges if his will was deemed a forgery, said they would appeal.
Chan’s lawyer Jonathan Midgley told reporters his client was “extremely disappointed” with Tuesday’s ruling.
“But he appreciates how difficult this sort of trial is and will make an appeal,” Midgley said.
Chinachem Charitable Foundation lawyer Keith Ho Man-kei said the foundation was delighted with the ruling.
“The 2002 will is now regarded as the valid will and the entire estate of Nina Wang will be inherited by the foundation,” he said.
Wang’s surviving brother, Dr Kung Yan-sum, also said he was “very happy”.
“And I think the majority of the people are happy. The money will be used to support charity work,” Kung said.
Kung and younger sisters Kung Yan-sum and Kung Chung-sum and their lawyers later appeared at a press conference.
“Today’s judgment showed that there is justice in the world,”said Kung, who with his sisters, is on the board of the foundation,
“We will try our best to operate the foundation according to my late sister’s will and provide money to help those in need,” he said.
Kung said if Tony Chan filed an appeal, the foundation was confident of winning.
Keith Ho said that following Tuesday’s judgment, the foundation had the right to claim legal fees from Chan. But he did not disclose the amount.
He said there were a number of legal procedures needed to transfer Nina Wang’s fortune to the foundation. This could take several months. But if Chan filed an appeal, these procedures would be delayed further.
The case featured a heady mix of sex, family secrets and Wang’s fascination with fung shui.
Wang used fung shui in a fruitless bid to find her husband Teddy who was kidnapped in 1990 but whose body has never been found.
The probate case filled the front pages of Hong Kong’s media for weeks after it first opened in May last year, with the court hearing from 36 witnesses.
The charity’s lawyers accused Chan of being a charlatan who duped the eccentric billionaire, arguing that Wang did not have the mental capacity to execute the alleged will because of her health problems.
Lam acknowledged that Chan, 50, and Wang had carried on a love affair, but rejected his claim that she wanted him in charge of her sprawling property empire.
“When Nina made he 2002 will, her relationship with [Chan] did not cause her to give him her estate,” he wrote.
“As far as her estate was concerned, she placed a higher regard on her charitable objectives than [Chan].”
Wang, the judge said, had wanted to keep the affair a secret.
“She wanted it buried together with her after her death,” he wrote.
The famously frugal billionaire, known for wearing pigtails and miniskirts, won a separate legal battle with her father-in-law for control of her late husband’s estate just two years before her own death.
The charity was named after the business empire Chinachem Group set up by her husband, who was declared legally dead in 1999.
Wang’s thrifty nature - she preferred cheap brands and fried chicken to designer clothes and five-star restaurants - was widely documented by Hong Kong’s media, which nicknamed her “Little Sweetie” because of her resemblance to a Japanese comic character.
Wang rarely went to malls and had most of her clothes and handbags made by friends.
Lam did not deliver the ruling in court, but a summary of his 300-page judgment was handed out to the media.
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