Jury finds lover guilty of forging US$4b will
Source: Agencies |
July 5, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE lover of late billionaire Nina Wang was found guilty by a Hong Kong jury yesterday of forging a will naming him the sole beneficiary of her estimated US$4 billion estate.
After more than 20 hours of deliberations, the jury voted six to two at the High Court to convict Peter Chan, formerly Tony Chan, of forgery. Chan had pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including forgery and using a forged document.
Wang, known as "Little Sweetie," 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.
The verdict is the latest setback for Chan, who in March was ordered to pay HK$340 million (US$43.8 million) in tax arrears, and has been hit by the costly legal battle for Wang's estate that he lost in 2011.
Chan changed his name from Tony after that ruling and converted to Christianity this year.
After the verdict, Chan appeared flushed and lowered his head in the witness box, but showed no outward emotion.
"Without the lawsuits, I would not have gone to church and would not have experienced God," Chan told the South China Morning Post earlier. "I have no regrets."
In 2011, the High Court upheld a judgment that a 2006 will leaving Wang's US$4 billion estate, one of Asia's largest fortunes, to her former lover and feng shui master was forged.
It upheld an earlier will bequeathing her fortune to a charitable foundation.
The judge is expected to impose sentence this morning.
After more than 20 hours of deliberations, the jury voted six to two at the High Court to convict Peter Chan, formerly Tony Chan, of forgery. Chan had pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including forgery and using a forged document.
Wang, known as "Little Sweetie," 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.
The verdict is the latest setback for Chan, who in March was ordered to pay HK$340 million (US$43.8 million) in tax arrears, and has been hit by the costly legal battle for Wang's estate that he lost in 2011.
Chan changed his name from Tony after that ruling and converted to Christianity this year.
After the verdict, Chan appeared flushed and lowered his head in the witness box, but showed no outward emotion.
"Without the lawsuits, I would not have gone to church and would not have experienced God," Chan told the South China Morning Post earlier. "I have no regrets."
In 2011, the High Court upheld a judgment that a 2006 will leaving Wang's US$4 billion estate, one of Asia's largest fortunes, to her former lover and feng shui master was forged.
It upheld an earlier will bequeathing her fortune to a charitable foundation.
The judge is expected to impose sentence this morning.
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