With a Court of Final Appeal ruling going against him yesterday, self-styled fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen lost his battle for the HK$50 billion estate of the late Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, once Hong Kong's richest woman.
He now faces the possibility of paying much of his opponent's HK$200 million legal bill on top of his own fees, as well as the prospect of criminal charges. The top court dismissed Chan's application for leave to appeal after a four-hour hearing, with reasons to be handed down later. The decision bought to a close Chan's four-year legal battle with the Chinachem Charitable Foundation over the estate.
Chan had claimed Wang left him the estate in a 2006 will - which he has since been charged with forging - while Chinachem claimed it was the beneficiary under a 2002 will.
Emerging victorious yesterday, Chinachem Group executive director Dr Kung Yan-sum, Wang's younger brother, for the first time gave an estimate of the estate's value, at HK$50 billion to HK$60 billion.
Kung welcomed the decision at a press conference with champagne flowing at Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan, flanked by his siblings and staff from the Chinachem Group.
Kung said the dictum, 'There is justice in heaven and on earth' - a term he used at various stages in the legal process - was the truth.
He said the foundation could now do its work, although it would take time for the assets to be transferred.