Vitasoy heiress sues prominent Hong Kong art dealer Pearl Lam over Banksy painting

High Court writ alleges that gallery owner Pearl Lam obtained £500,000 from plaintiff Karen Lo by falsely representing that she had bought Banksy’s Show Me The Monet

Lam is separately accused of owing HK$5 million to Lo from a loan

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Show Me the Monet by artist Banksy on display in London as part of a live stream auction by Sotheby’s in 2020. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:26pm, 23 Mar 2023Updated: 9:28pm, 23 Mar 2023

A prominent gallery owner is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit for allegedly duping an heiress of Hong Kong drinks giant Vitasoy International into paying her for a painting by British street artist Banksy that was never delivered.

A High Court writ filed on Tuesday alleges that art dealer Pearl Ling Meng-chu, also known as Pearl Lam, obtained £500,000 (US$613,000) from plaintiff Karen Lo Ki-yan by falsely representing that she had bought Banksy’s Show Me The Monet on the latter’s behalf.

Lo is a granddaughter of the late Lo Kwee-seong, who founded beverage giant Vitasoy back in 1940.

The writ prepared by the Lee Law solicitor firm contends that Lam, daughter of the late Hong Kong tycoon Lim Por-yen, had knowingly made false and negligent representations to Lo that she had acquired the painting “with the predominant motive to injure the plaintiff”.

Lam is separately accused of owing a HK$5 million loan to Lo.

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