Tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung is not the natural father of his son Thomas, it was revealed yesterday.
A long-term rumour was substantiated for the first time when the Court of Appeal dismissed Thomas Fok Man-fong's bid to reduce a $5 million divorce payment. Thomas Fok, 50, is the son of the tycoon's second wife, Ana Fung. The identity of his father is unclear.
'It is not Henry Fok,' Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing said in a written judgment. 'However, Henry Fok allowed his name to be registered as the father of the husband [Thomas Fok] at the Registry of Births.'
Mr Justice Woo, handing down the court's judgment on Thomas Fok's attempt to reduce maintenance payments to ex-wife Emma Hung Kwok-wah, noted that his relationship with Henry Fok 'has never been close' for various reasons.
Thomas Fok had not been successful while working for several of the tycoon's companies. He was arrested and jailed over an arms deal in the US in the early 1990s.
The relationship became 'more distant than ever' after Henry Fok, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was subpoenaed to testify at Thomas Fok's petition for divorce.
But Mr Justice Woo noted that Henry Fok had picked up the bill many times for Thomas Fok - be it for a second-hand Jaguar or at an elite club.
