Miss Hong Kong 1995 Winnie Young sued for beauty pageant crown and California house over HK$3.76 million debt
Court writ shows Young and her husband borrowed the money to set up a Samoa-registered business and pledged the crown as collateral, but failed to repay
A former Miss Hong Kong is being sued for her beauty pageant crown as part payment for HK$3.76 million (US$479,000) in unpaid debt owed by her and her husband, a court writ shows.
Winnie Young Yuen-yee, the 1995 winner, and her partner, Wong Shuai-fun, pledged Young’s crown as collateral along with a property in the United States to secure a loan three years ago for their Samoa-registered business Little Einstein Academy.
The couple borrowed HK$2.4 million from Trinity Aim Capital Limited for the venture, which was based out of CC Wu Building in Wan Chai.
The money was granted between December 2014 and November 2015, but due to their failure to repay in full, the debt has since snowballed to HK$3.76 million including interest, according to a writ filed last Friday by the creditor.
Trinity Aim Capital has lodged a civil suit asking a court to compel the couple to hand over the beauty crown and house in San Francisco, California.
“Wrongfully ... the defendants have failed to deliver the pledged properties to the plaintiff, even after the ... default occurred,” the writ said.