Henry Fok's three children back in court in battle over tycoon's estate
Heirs argue that a previous settlement inappropriately excluded a major mainland property
The battle over late tycoon and philanthropist Henry Fok Ying-tung's estate returned to court yesterday as three of his children challenged a High Court judge who excluded from the estate a property in Nansha, Guangzhou, with an estimated value of 30 billion yuan (HK$38 billion).
Benjamin Fok Chun-yue, Patricia Fok Lai-ping and Nora Fok Lai-lor, Henry Fok's three children with his first wife, also asked the Court of Appeal to rule on whether Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor was wrong to stay their case in January last year.
The three Fok heirs argue that they were inappropriately excluded from an option to acquire a stake in the Nansha project from a charitable foundation. The project was not made a part of the settlement because that option had since expired.
Barrister Benjamin Yu SC, representing Nora Fok, argued that Poon had made a "subjective interpretation" while determining the terms of the Fok family's settlement agreement over the Nansha project.
"The judge … prematurely came to a conclusion with no base" Yu sai. He said Poon had relied on an interim report from an accounting firm appointed to investigate the estate.
Henry Fok had 13 children with three wives. He died of cancer in 2006, when Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at US$3.7 billion.