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Billionaire Eric Hotung leaves the High Court building after testifying. Photo: Felix Wong

I loved my secret girlfriend ... and felt sorry I couldn’t acknowledge our illegitimate son, Eric Hotung tells court

Hotung told a hearing that in 2007 he made his illegitimate son beneficiary of his Macau assets; the legal dispute involves HK$2 million he gave to his secret lover, Winnie Ho, mother of his son

Michael Hotung, the son of billionaire Eric Hotung and his secret lover Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, was once his father’s “champion” and heir before the two fell out, his 90-year-old father testified in court on Wednesday.

Taking to the witness stand in a rare public appearance, Eric Hotung told the High Court that he made Michael the beneficiary of his Macau assets in a 2007 will.

“He was my champion,” said the wheelchair-bound philanthropist, who is suing Ho and Michael over HK$2 million he gave Ho in the 1960s.

Eric Hotung, with a helper by his side, said Michael had helped him in a dispute with Ho’s brother, gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun. The will also included a Japanese sword, which symbolised victory, the court heard.

But their relationship later took a turn for the worse as Michael initiated a defamation case against his father in the US, the court heard.

“I felt sorry that I couldn’t acknowledge him as my son,” he said, referring to Michael throughout the hearing by the last name Mak instead of Hotung.

“He was very sad losing the identity of being my son,” Eric Hotung added.

Led by his counsel Alex Lok, the philanthropist said he believed Michael sued him because he cut him out.“He had to find a way to hurt me as I hurt him,” the philanthropist said.

Eric Hotung and his trust firm Lare Sare are suing Ho, Michael Hotung and Ho’s Moon Valley Incorporated over the HK$2 million purportedly given to Ho on trust to invest in her brother’s casino business around 1961.

He is claiming the sum, as well as profits and shares arising from it, after it was invested in Stanley Ho’s then fledgling Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) and Shun Tak Shipping Company. Ho claims she has since paid Eric Hotung HK$1.6 million.

Hitting back at Ho’s version on Wednesday, the philanthropist said: “She has never given me back a cent in return.”

The court was given a first-person account of the pair’s love affair.

Asked if he had ever loved Ho, the philanthropist said: “Yes, with all my heart.” But due to public pressure, Eric Hotung eventually had to move Ho to the United States, the court heard.

In cross-examination, the philanthropist conceded that he made a mistake when he wrote letters to Ho telling her that the amount claimed in the current lawsuit would be given to his children, while in fact it would go to a charity.

He also admitted that he had not expressly told Ho the purpose of the HK$2 million before he wrote her the letters.

Eric Hotung will continue to testify before Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming on Thursday.

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