Tough times for catwalk finalist
Even the famous and gorgeous can run into strife in times of economic turmoil and plummeting property prices.
Former beauty pageant finalist Elaine da Silva is being sued by the vendor of a HK$9.8 million Pok Fu Lam flat who alleges she failed to go through with an agreement to buy the property.
According to a High Court writ, Da Silva agreed to buy the property, on the 61st floor of Tower 6 at the swanky Sun Hung Kai development The Belchers, in May and stumped up a 10 per cent deposit. But 'wrongfully and in breach of the agreement' she failed to complete the sale and pay the balance by October 28, the writ says.
Now the vendor, named as Sue Lin Holt, wants to keep the HK$980,000 deposit and is claiming unspecified damages, interest and costs as well.
A far cry from the days when Da Silva strode the catwalk as first runner-up in the Miss Asia competition in 1990.
