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SCMP Reporter

Wealthy banker Mimi Monica Wong's  dance teacher  threatened to smash her head against the wall and throw her out of the window when she  did not dance well in a public practice session, a court was told yesterday.

Latin dance champion Gaynor Fairweather  and her husband, Mirko Saccani,  are being sued  by Ms Wong to return $62 million of an advance payment of a $120 million teaching contract.

Ms Wong, the head of HSBC's Private Bank, accused Mr Saccani of insulting her in front of more than 50 dancers at an open practice session held at Li Hua restaurant on August 25, 2004.

Yesterday, dance instructor Philip Redmond testified that he heard Mr Saccani shout at Ms Wong: 'If you do it again, Monica, I'll smash your head against the wall.'

Mr Redmond said Mr Saccani  had a 'killer look' when the threat was delivered at the restaurant, a famous  haunt of Hong Kong's dance community.

Ms Wong's present Latin dance teacher, James Jordan,   said yesterday it was 'very evil' the way Mr Saccani had treated Ms Wong.

'I've never seen a teacher treat his student this way. The aggression and words used were totally unacceptable,' he said.

Russell Coleman SC,  in cross-examination, asked Mr Jordan if he had done anything about the 'evil'  he had witnessed.

Mr Jordan  replied that it was not his place to intervene as Ms Wong had not been his student at the time.

Mr Jordan  said he had started tutoring Ms Wong at the end of 2004, and he was charging her $165,000 a month in a one-year contract.

A former teacher of Ms Wong, Garry Foster, yesterday said he had also heard Mr Saccani shouting and threatening to 'throw [Wong] out of the f*****g window'  at the restaurant.

He also told the court  Mr Saccani had offered him $3,000 to compensate his loss of income after he was asked to make a witness statement a few months following the Li Hua restaurant incident, but the offer was never taken.

He said Mr Saccani had treated him and his wife to a dinner at the Grand Hyatt early last year. Mr Saccani had paid the bill in full, whereas previously he had suggested splitting it. Mr Foster believed Mr Saccani had 'wanted something' from him.

But Mr Coleman contended there was no reason for Mr Saccani to offer Mr  Foster financial advantage and he alleged Mr Foster was creating an impression of something 'underhand'.

Lisa Foster yesterday testified that they had visited Mr Saccani  and Ms Fairweather's flat after the dinner.

She said she heard Mr Saccani use the words 'f*****g bitch' to refer to Ms Wong.

The hearing before Deputy High Court Judge Gerard Muttrie  continues today.



Dance teacher had killer look: witness