A Hong Kong judge sentenced the sole heir in a Will to be jailed for forging a Will in a multibillion-dollar estate.
By Caroline Browne, Partner
A Hong Kong judge on 28th June 2013 jailed for 12 years a former lover Peter Chan of late billionaire Nina Wang for forging a Will naming him the sole heir to claim her multibillion-dollar estate. Nina Wang, who was one of Asia’s wealthiest women, died of cancer in 2007 age 69. Nina Wang inherited most of her wealth from her husband, who was kidnapped in 1990 and despite the payment of a $33-million ransom he was never seen alive again. At the time of her death her fortune was estimated at $10.7 billion.
In 2011, the High Court upheld a previous judgement that a 2006 Will made by Nina Wang leaving her entire estate to Peter Chan was a forgery. Instead, it upheld an earlier Will bequeathing her entire fortune to a charitable foundation run by Wang’s family.
Peter Chan, a former bartender and feng shui master, pleaded not guilty to a number of charges. He had managed to get 30 million sterling from Nina Wang when she was ill in the last two days of her life. The judge referred to his behaviour as “shameless” and “wicked” and that he exploited his relationship with Nina Wang to obtain large amounts of her money in her final years.
The judge sentenced him to 12 years on each count, to be served concurrently, and also ordered Chan to pay more than HK$2 million ($257,900) for the legal costs the prosecution. In March of this year Chan was ordered in March to pay HK$340 million ($43.8 million) in tax arrears.
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