HK tycoon turned to feng shui 'to prolong life'
HONG KONG (AFP) - - An ailing Hong Kong tycoon gave her feng shui master more than 264 million dollars in the hope that it would help prolong her life, a court heard.
Tony Chan, a bartender-turned-soothsayer who says he is the sole beneficiary of Nina Wang's 13-billion-dollar estate, told Hong Kong's High Court he had received three tranches of 688 million Hong Kong dollars (88.2 million US) from Wang between 2005 and 2006.
Lawrence Lok, lawyer for Chinachem Charitable Foundation, a group controlled by Wang's siblings which is challenging Chan's claim, asked the feng shui master why he was given the lavish sums of money.
"It's a gift to me. She addressed me as her hubby. She loved me. So it's a gift," said Chan, who also claims he was Wang's lover.
However, Lok pointed out that the money was advanced during a time when Wang's health was deteriorating, after she was diagnosed with cancer in late 2004. She died of the disease in 2007, aged 69.
Lok reminded the court of earlier testimony by a doctor who had said that a feng shui master had told Wang he could improve her health by taking her hair and clothes to China.
The lawyer added that another witness who travelled with Wang to Singapore for medical treatment in 2006 had said she had overheard Wang on the phone with Chan saying: "You are useless and I am not getting any better."
HONG KONG (AFP) - - An ailing Hong Kong tycoon gave her feng shui master more than 264 million dollars in the hope that it would help prolong her life, a court heard.
Tony Chan, a bartender-turned-soothsayer who says he is the sole beneficiary of Nina Wang's 13-billion-dollar estate, told Hong Kong's High Court he had received three tranches of 688 million Hong Kong dollars (88.2 million US) from Wang between 2005 and 2006.
Lawrence Lok, lawyer for Chinachem Charitable Foundation, a group controlled by Wang's siblings which is challenging Chan's claim, asked the feng shui master why he was given the lavish sums of money.
"It's a gift to me. She addressed me as her hubby. She loved me. So it's a gift," said Chan, who also claims he was Wang's lover.
However, Lok pointed out that the money was advanced during a time when Wang's health was deteriorating, after she was diagnosed with cancer in late 2004. She died of the disease in 2007, aged 69.
Lok reminded the court of earlier testimony by a doctor who had said that a feng shui master had told Wang he could improve her health by taking her hair and clothes to China.
The lawyer added that another witness who travelled with Wang to Singapore for medical treatment in 2006 had said she had overheard Wang on the phone with Chan saying: "You are useless and I am not getting any better."
