'It's a relief they will finally clear my name but at the same time it's a nuisance because none of the women in my family wants this business to be aired in public. But at least everything will be in the open,' Mr Fang told the Sunday Morning Post.

Pang's remains were found at a Yau Ma Tei flat owned by Mr Fang in 1999. Her head was discovered in a nearby rubbish bin, and a gold tooth and two digit bones were missing. She went missing in 1995, when she was 34.

No one has been arrested or charged in the case.

At the time, police concluded there had been no crime and a coroner decided there was no need to hold an inquest. However, police reopened inquiries in July after being urged to do so by the Pang family, and following the recommendation of a police taskforce that reviewed the case.

But in September the Coroner's Court decided not to reopen inquiries, saying there was no contradiction between the findings of the new police investigation and the original one.

The letter from the court added that 'the issue of public interest is not involved'.

But last month Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung disagreed.

Mr Fang said his famous sister was one reason there was so much interest in the case.

'The reason the press don't want to leave me alone is because of Anson Chan,' he said. 'They have nothing to report on her so they come after me. Look at how they made a big deal out of her trying to exercise her right to march. She's just an ordinary woman who wanted to do her bit.'

Mr Fang also disputed Pang's sisters' claim that they wanted an inquest solely for the purpose of finding out how she died. He claimed they had ulterior motives.

Regarding newspaper reports that it was suspicious that he had continued to pay for a flat that he hadn't entered for four years, Mr Fang said that after he was cleared of 119 counts of misdeeds at the Law Society, he became a Buddhist who wanted to reform and help people.

'I wanted to help Ms Pang after I got to know her, so I provided a safe haven for her, but is it so surprising that I wanted to stay away from a drug addict?' he said.

'People like to equate money with sex and power - nobody can believe that I wanted to help her. I'm generous to men, too; does that mean I'm gay?'

Mr Fang said it was a natural consequence that he, along with other people who knew her, stayed away from Pang as she was being chased by loansharks and would often make scenes in public.

'She used to cause trouble at my solicitor's firm and also at the police station every time she tried to kill herself,' he said.

A date has not yet been fixed for the inquest.