Pop diva Anita Mui's mother to get allowance from trust

A court has ordered the administrator of late Canto-pop diva Anita Mui Yim-fong's estate to pay Mui's mother HK$20,000 a month to cover her living costs.

Administrator HSBC International Trustee will also pay Tam Mei-kam, 88, HK$240,000 to settle her overdue rent.

The order came after a court ruled the suspension of Tam's living allowance in January.

The Court of First Instance heard yesterday Mui's estate had a net worth of HK$100 million, with HK$500,000 in cash.

Mui died of cervical cancer in December 2003, aged 40. Before she died, she made a will and set up the Karen Trust.

The will stated Mui's assets of HK$100 million would go to the trust, which provided Tam with an allowance. The balance after Tam's death would go to the New Horizon Buddhist Association.

A few months after Mui's death, Tam challenged the validity of her daughter's will, and has been in and out of court since.

In May 2011, Mr Justice Patrick Chan Siu-oi said in the Court of Final Appeal that Tam's case was "entirely without merit".

In a court session in January, Tam hurled a pair of shoes, along with two other small items, at the solicitor for HSBC International Trustee, when the court announced she would no longer receive HK$120,000 a month in living expenses from Mui's trust.

In February, Tam was sued for HK$93,600 in unpaid rent and interest. Her landlord claimed she had not paid the HK$30,000 monthly rent for her Happy Valley flat since November.