Failed appeal sees Hong Kong feng shui master Peter Chan sent back to jail for will forgery

Former feng shui master Peter Chan Chun-chuen will stay behind bars after failing to overturn his convictions for forging and using a will he claimed to be that of late tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum.

Chan, who was named Tony before he converted to Christianity, was earlier repeatedly accused of lying during his civil lawsuit to claim Wang's HK$83 billion estate.

Following his defeat in that probate battle, he was convicted of one count each of forgery and of using a false document in 2013 and jailed for 12 years.

In their ruling yesterday, three Court of Appeal judges disagreed with his lawyer's assertion that the criminal trial judge, Mr Justice Andrew Macrae, had "placed too great an emphasis on lies" and misdirected the jury, resulting in Chan's convictions.

"The judge had given the direction, 'lies do not prove guilt', twice in his original direction," Court of Appeal Vice-President Mr Justice Michael Lunn noted in his written judgment.

Macrae had reiterated the same point in a modified version of his direction, Lunn added.

The appeal judge told Chan, 55: "Your application for leave to appeal against your conviction has been refused, as has your application for appeal of sentence."