Philanthropist Henry Fok's children renew fight for control of his estate
Seven years after Henry Fok's death, the legal battle over who is in charge of estate left by the late philanthropist has taken another twist
In what a lawyer described as a "sad situation", the children of late philanthropic tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung went to court yesterday, seven years to the day after his death, to resume their fight for control of his vast estate.
It was the latest episode in a legal battle in which Ian Fok Chun-wan is seeking to ward off an attempt by younger brother Benjamin Fok Chun-yue and two sisters to remove him and an aunt as executors.
Ian Fok's lawyer, Denis Chang SC, said it was a "sad situation" as the senior Fok had died exactly seven years earlier on October 28, 2006, aged 83.
He accused Benjamin of trying to hijack his father's legacy of charity work in the booming Nansha district of Guangzhou, the family's ancestral home.
The hearing followed one in May when Benjamin's application - made on the grounds that his elder brother had withheld information about a project in Nansha - was adjourned to yesterday for Ian Fok to argue whether the case should be reopened.
Sisters Patricia Fok Lai-ping and Nora Fok Lai-lor have since thrown their support behind the application, which seeks to replace Ian with retired judge Anthony Rogers.
Urging the court to stay the application, Chang said Ian Fok had done his job, with the estate having distributed HK$1.108 billion to the beneficiaries. Ian also took out HK$1.141 billion for the siblings, of which Benjamin had already received HK$279 million.