Economy

Feng shui master charged with forging tycoon will

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-26 17:26

HONG KONG - The ex-lover and feng shui master of late Hong Kong billionaire Nina Wang was formally charged by police on Thursday with forgery of a will he claimed entitled him to the heiress' huge estate.

Related readings: HK fengshui master loses appeal in Nina Wang case

The latest move further stacks the odds against Tony Chan's gritty and controversial bid to wrest control of one of Asia's largest private fortunes, after a court ruled last year that a will bequeathing Wang's entire $4 billion estate to him was a forgery.

Instead, an earlier 2002 will, leaving Wang's wealth largely to charity, was deemed genuine.

"After extensive police investigation and having sought advice from the Department of Justice, the subject male is formally charged today," the police said in a statement.

Chan, a married father of three at the time of his affair with Wang, was escorted by police officers to a courthouse on Thursday in a grey sedan.

He has steadfastly maintained the will was genuine and penned by Wang out of a great love for him.  

He was granted bail of HK$200 million ($25.7 million), though ordered to surrender his travel documents and to remain in his home in the city's exclusive Peak district.

Pressure has mounted on Chan since his failed court battle, including rejected applications to appeal his case, while being slapped with an order to pay outstanding taxes of HK$347 million ($44 million) from nearly HK$2 billion in feng shui consultation fees that Wang had paid to him.

Chan, however, claimed the payments were "gifts of love" and shouldn't be taxed. He recently told reporters he was under severe psychological stress, while suggesting he wasn't being given fair legal treatment after being described by a judge as "a liar" who'd tailored his evidence to suit his case.

Wang, rated Asia's richest woman, was one of Hong Kong's most colourful tycoons, nicknamed "little sweetie" for her braided pigtails, mini-skirts and giggly persona.  

The twists and turns featured revelations of adultery and bizarre rituals associated with feng shui, a Chinese philosophy aimed at optimising natural energy flows in homes and spaces.  

Wang was one of Asia's wealthiest women with a business empire including the Chinachem Group, Hong Kong's largest private property developer. She died of cancer in 2007, aged 69.

Born in Shanghai, Wang inherited most of her wealth from her husband, Teddy, who was kidnapped in 1990 and never seen alive again despite the payment of a $33 million ransom. She later fought a legal battle with her father-in-law for control of the estate.