Court orders Tony Chan again to reveal land-deal informant

Fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen has still not identified the person who gave information about a controversial land deal cited during a probate battle, despite a court order to do so last October.

High Court Judge Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor said this was 'wholly unsatisfactory', and ordered Chan to reveal the source within two weeks.

Yesterday's hearing at the Court of First Instance was the latest twist in a claim of disclosure filed by investment professional Edmund Chang Wa-shan, who was mistakenly named as the informant by Chan's lawyer at a hearing for the tussle over the estate of late tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum.

Chan and the Chinachem Charitable Foundation are contesting the estate.

Poon had on October 9 ordered Chan to reveal his source of information about a land deal in which former lawmaker Gilbert Leung Kam-ho bought the land from Wang's company, Chinachem, at the price he sold it for 20 years ago. The information was used to attack the testimony of Leung, a key witness for Chinachem.

Yesterday, Chang's lawyer, Ronny Tong Ka-wah SC, said Chan's legal team had failed to comply with the order.

Jonathan Midgley, for Chan, had provided the name of Esther Chan in an affidavit filed on October 27, Tong said. But Esther Chan was a representative of the source, rather than the source itself, he said.