Lawyers for Hong Kong's richest woman on Monday attacked a court's finding that she probably faked the will of her late husband, who was kidnapped 13 years ago and never seen again.

Nina Wang lost a drawn-out and sensational court battle with her father-in-law for the estate of her husband, the tycoon Teddy Wang, in the High Court last November. Her attorneys began arguing her appeal on Monday.

Both Nina Wang and Wang Din-shin, who is in his 90s, had claimed to possess the real will to a fortune estimated at 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$128 million).

Wang was abducted in 1990 and although his family paid US$33 million in ransom, he was never seen again.

Wang's father tried for years to get his son declared dead so he could pursue the estate. This finally happened in 1999, opening the way for the battle of the competing wills.

A lawyer for Nina Wang, Michael Thomas, told the three-judge Court of Appeal on Monday that the trial judge had taken the wrong approach when he pieced together the evidence presented by the other side and had jumped to the conclusion that Nina Wang had probably faked the will.

Also, it should not have been up to Nina Wang to dispel all the suspicious points raised by the father-in-law's lawyers, Thomas argued. Thomas said the judge had shown an ``adversarial stance'' toward his client.

The appeal judges raised questions about Thomas' reasoning, asking whether the heart of the issue should be the validity of the signature that appeared on the will Nina Wang presented.

Neither Nina Wang nor her father-in-law were in court Monday.

After Teddy Wang's disappearance, Nina Wang built his company, Chinachem, into a massive private property developer, with office towers and apartment complexes throughout Hong Kong. All along she insisted he was alive and would come back to her.

Forbes magazine recently estimated her worth at US$2.8 billion.

The father-in-law said the will he had, naming him as sole beneficiary, was written in 1968 after Teddy Wang accused Nina Wang of adultery.

Nina Wang has not directly commented on the adultery allegation. But her father-in-law showed the court pictures that he said were taken by a private investigator allegedly showing Nina Wang with her lover.

Nina Wang reportedly was arrested by police in December for suspected forgery and released after posting a bond of HK$5 million (US$640,000).

Close

Today's Top News		Top Lifestyle News
+Suspects detained in massive sex scandal ( 2003-09-28) +China unveils anti-SARS taskforce ( 2003-09-29) +China beats Russia 1-0 to top Group D ( 2003-09-29) +HK-mainland sign annexes to flesh out CEPA trade accord ( 2003-09-29) +New plan to ease traffic congestion ( 2003-09-28)		+Hong Kong's wealthiest woman attacks ruling that she probably faked her late husband's wil ( 2003-09-29) +SARS-affected tourism to recover totally next year ( 2003-09-29) +Education brings a better tomorrow ( 2003-09-29) +Worried parents keep an eye on their kids ( 2003-09-29) +Saving of tiger a humane option ( 2003-09-29)