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Brian Wong

A Hong Kong court has invalidated a 2004 will by late tycoon Lim Por-yen, ruling his third wife and children are also entitled to inherit part of his estate.
The High Court on Friday found there were “highly suspicious circumstances” surrounding Lim’s execution of the December 2004 will, in which he purportedly bequeathed most of his assets to the wives and children from his first two marriages.
His estate was valued at HK$2.9 billion (US$373.68 million) at the time of his death, according to the plaintiff.
The Lai Sun Group founder and former chairman of local broadcaster ATV was diagnosed with a moderate to severe level of dementia before he died aged 93 in February 2005.
The court held that Lim could not have had the mental capacity required to make a new will revoking one he proclaimed to be his last in 1973.
The court ruled in favour of art dealer Pearl Ling Meng-chu, also known as Pearl Lam, and her mother Koo Siu-ying, who were excluded from the list of beneficiaries in the 2004 document.
Lim’s lawyers initiated the probate lawsuit in 2011 after Koo and Lam each entered a caveat registering their interests in the tycoon’s estate.

Born in Hong Kong, Lim built the Lai Sun empire starting with garments before expanding into property, retail and television.
He was a member of the preparatory committee that laid the foundations for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region before the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Lim had seven children from four relationships, including late businessman Lam Kin-ming and entertainment mogul Peter Lam Kin-ngok, who now chairs the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Lim also had an adopted son, Matthew Lam Kin-hong.
The court heard Lim signed the first will in 1967 before making his “last will” in 1973, directing that his assets be divided into 12 equal shares and distributed among all family members but in varying amounts.
But in mid-2004, members of the first two families, including Lim’s second wife U Po-chu, Lam Kin-ming and Peter Lam, and Matthew Lam began negotiating among themselves how Lim’s estate should be distributed after his death.
The new will purported to give HK$1.92 billion to Peter Lam, HK$700 million to his elder brother Lam Kin-ming and HK$296 million to U and Matthew Lam.
According to Friday’s judgment, the ailing tycoon, whose condition significantly worsened after a delirium episode, never saw a draft of the 2004 will before he was told to sign it at his Kowloon Tong residence.
After an independent doctor declined to certify the tycoon was sound enough to endorse the 2004 will, Lim’s family physician approached another doctor present and had him write two statements about Lim’s conditions.
That doctor told the court he did not wish to take responsibility as he felt pressured writing the statements and what he wrote might not be entirely true. Those statements were never found.
Mr Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun in his judgment found no evidence Lim had been coerced into making the 2004 will by members of the first two families.
But he cited the “radically different” nature of the 2004 will, the “highly suspicious” circumstances of its execution and the absence of contemporaneous documents regarding its preparation in rejecting it as reflecting Lim’s true intention before his death.
“In my view, the facts of this case excite the suspicion of the court to the highest possible degree,” the judge wrote.
“It is clear that the 2004 will was the product of negotiations and jockeying between the beneficiaries, with no involvement of Mr Lim.”
The court also ordered the plaintiff to bear the costs of the proceedings.


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“It is clear that the 2004 will was the product of negotiations and jockeying between the beneficiaries, with no involvement of Mr Lim,” High Court rules


“It is clear that the 2004 will was the product of negotiations and jockeying between the beneficiaries, with no involvement of Mr Lim,” High Court rules.
