'Tutor King' defrauded creditors, writ says

Celebrity tutor Karson Oten Fan Karno, who went bankrupt last year, transferred assets worth HK$50 million to his mother 'with an intent to defraud the creditors', a writ alleges.

Trustees of Fan's property wrote in a statement of claim submitted to the High Court on Monday that he sold properties and shares at less than their true value to his mother, Kong Suk-chun, and two companies linked to her without disclosing it to his creditors.

The trustees are asking the court to order Kong and the companies to repay all or part of the money they received from Fan and from sales of the property and shares. The companies were Golden Full Trading and Neo Corporation. Kong was a director of both.

Customs officers arrested the 'Tutor King' and seven other people in May last year over suspected infringement of the copyright of public exam papers. He was also sued by his former employer, King's Glory Education Centre, for breach of contract, resulting in his bankruptcy.

According to the writ, the assets in question involved three properties, a parking space and shares. Also involved was HK$42 million paid by Modern Education to Fan in 2006 and 2007 for service to the tutorial centre.

The trustees asked the court to declare the transactions void and that the properties involved were part of Fan's estate.

The properties, in Ho Man Tin, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok, were worth up to HK$13 million.

A bankruptcy petition was lodged against Fan in September last year and he was declared bankrupt in November after he failed to pay HK$8.8 million in damages to King's Glory for breach of contract.