Tony Chan ordered to pay foundation's HK$140m legal bill

Fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen has been ordered to pay the HK$140 million legal bill run up by his rival in the legal battle for the estate of Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum.

Making the order yesterday Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon - who ruled in favour of the Chinachem Charitable Foundation on February 2 - said Chan had to be condemned for having knowingly presented a forged will to make his claim.

Added to Chan's own estimated HK$200 million costs, his legal bill is already HK$340 million just for the first round of the probate tussle, which is expected to run for much longer as Chan is seeking to appeal.

'Chan deliberately perpetuated a deception on the probate court with a view to obtain financial advantage by seeking probate to be granted on the 2006 will,' Lam said yesterday.

'In order to bolster his case on the authenticity of the 2006 will, he told lies about his relationship with Nina, including the commencement of an intimate relationship,' the judge said. '[Chan] was prepared to go to the extent of testifying to this court that he had never provided any fung shui services to Nina and that he had never been well versed in fung shui matters despite the fact that he had offered fung shui courses to people interested in the subject. He also lied about the nature of the hole-digging activities he performed for Nina.'

Chan declined to comment on the judgment. A date for the appeal has yet to be set.