Barrister accused of faking will 'did not notice' false signature
Lawyer accused of forging will says poor mental health clouded his ability to see fake
A barrister charged with using a fake will in an effort to claim a calligraphy master's estate said his mental condition was so poor that he failed to notice the signature on the will was false, the District Court heard yesterday.
Wong Kwai-sang, 50, was alleged to have submitted the will of master Au Shu-cham, a calligraphy master, to the High Court in October 2009.
The will named Wong as executor and his sister, a pupil of Au who lived with him for more than two decades, as beneficiary. But the police later found that Au's signature on the will was fake.
Wong, who has denied nine charges, said he suffered from insomnia and depression, was very sensitive to noises, had attention deficit problems and had been on medication since 1996.
That was why he had failed to notice the false signature, he said.
In practice, since the 1990s, his poor mental health had also affected his work performance and he had often been reprimanded by the court.