Pair 'cheated in $14m sweater, property scam'

A young couple claim they were cheated out of more than $14 million by a man who talked them into buying tens of thousands of cashmere sweaters and a string of properties.

Steve Cheng Tang-kit and Katherine Constance Wong, in a writ lodged in the High Court yesterday, say they had trusted the investment advice of a man Mr Cheng met at a driving school in Malaysia.

The man, Jimmy Chan Wai-ming, had told Mr Cheng he was an accountant and the couples met several times in Hong Kong to discuss investments.

In May 1996, the couple struck a deal with Mr Chan and his wife, Joan Chan Teng Lai-wah, under which the Chans would take a percentage of profits on investments the couple made with them, the writ says.

The couple, described as 'young and inexperienced in doing business', agreed to invest in nearly 39,000 cashmere sweaters, seven flats in Discovery Bay and other properties.

They wrote cheques for more than $14.3 million made payable to Orient Sun Limited, a company of which Mrs Chan is a director.