In a legal battle between two disgraced tycoons, Rogerio Lam Sou-fung has triumphed against his long-time business nemesis - the former head of the failed Carrian Group property empire, George Tan Soon-gin - over a batch of precious Chinese porcelain worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lam was entitled to the sale proceeds of three of the antique pieces - a Guyuexuan vase (below), a stemcup and a double gourd - Madam Justice Carlye Chu Fun-ling ruled yesterday in the Court of First Instance. The three pieces had been auctioned in 2005 for HK$115 million, HK$3.2 million and HK$5.7 million respectively.
The judge also ruled that the remaining two pieces, a deep dish and a pair of quail dishes, were Lam's properties. The two items, now kept in the custody of Christie's Hong Kong auction house, will be released to him.
Chu said she spotted strong antagonism between Lam and Tan, who claimed he was the genuine owner of the five pieces of antiques from the Song and Qing dynasties that were at the centre of the legal dispute.
'Neither Lam's nor Tan's performance in the witness box can be regarded as impressive,' she said in her 35 pages of judgment after a nine-day hearing in September.
'Both of them were not prepared to give precise and direct answers. The hostility between them is abundantly clear. Probably because of their past dealings and their profound dislike for each other, there were occasions when they would make exaggerated, irrelevant or even extraordinary remarks.'