Woman battles father-in-law over missing husband’s estate

Hong Kong’s richest woman is embroiled in a legal battle with her father-in-law over her missing husband’s estate - a tale that has all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster: sex, greed, blackmail and murder.

The legal woes of Nina Wang, head of the property giant Chinachem Group, began in April 1990, when her 56-year-old husband Teddy Wang was kidnapped after leaving the exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Although the family paid £23m in ransom, Wang was never seen again.

Several members of the gang that abducted the tycoon were captured and jailed. According to the kidnappers, Wang was kept aboard a sampan - a small Chinese boat - and later thrown into the sea, but his body was never found.

Wang was kidnapped once before, in 1983, but was released after a ransom of £7.8m was paid.

For years, Wang’s father, Wang Din-shin, tried to get the courts to declare his son dead so he could claim the estate. With equal fervour, the tycoon’s wife insisted her husband was alive and would return to her.

In the meantime, Nina Wang, a colourful character who wears garish outfits and styles her hair in pigtails, built Chinachem into Hong Kong’s largest private property developer, with office towers and apartment complexes throughout the territory.

Nicknamed "Little Sweetie" in Cantonese, the 63-year-old is a flamboyant eccentric in Hong Kong’s staid, male-dominated business community.

A High Court judge ruled Wang was legally dead in 1999, paving the way for a probate hearing. Now two wills are at the centre of a dispute between Wang’s father and wife.

The 90-year-old Wang Din-shin said his son made a will in 1968 that named him the sole beneficiary and he said this month it happened after Nina Wang allegedly committed adultery.

The elderly man tottered into the High Court and produced photographs showing Nina Wang and her alleged lover. He said they were shot by a private investigator hired by Teddy Wang.

Wang Din-shin testified that his son was so outraged by his wife’s behaviour that he made a will naming his father beneficiary.

Nina Wang has not responded directly to the adultery claim. The court was told earlier she had admitted to having marital problems in 1968, but had later reconciled with her husband.

However, she disputes her father-in-law’s contention about the will. Nina Wang says her husband wrote another will, one month before he was abducted, in which he left all his money and property to her.

The person who signed the 1990 will as a witness died of cancer in 1999.

The case took a bizarre turn last year, before the probate hearing began, when Nina Wang became the victim of a blackmail scam by two of her own lawyers.

Barrister Thomson Mo and solicitor Ailey Yeung were jailed for three years for attempting to extort £900,000 from their client by pretending that they could provide a forensic report proving the authenticity of her husband’s last will.

It was not the first time that someone has tried to bamboozle Nina Wang, who was ranked as the world’s 156th richest person last year by Forbes magazine. Her wealth is estimated at £2.6bn.

A man was sentenced to six months in a mental hospital for demanding £607,000 to mount a rescue mission for her husband.

Now, both sides in the will dispute have lined up handwriting experts to prove or disprove the authenticity of the 1990 will.

While not commenting on her legal battle, Nina Wang appeared unfazed by the unremitting publicity.

She appeared at Hong Kong’s Comic Books Fair last month to announce the launching of Nina Nina, a cartoon character based on her life. Holding a Nina Nina doll, she told reporters proceeds from the comic book sales will go to charity.

The Nina Nina character, named Little Sweetie, was created by Japanese cartoonist Yumiko Igarashi. It will tell readers how to "face trouble and work diligently", Nina Wang told reporters.

"She looks like an old doll herself," commented Amy Chan, a 16-year-old student.

If Mrs Wang wins the battle, it’s unclear who would be next in line to the fortune. She was married at 18 but never had children. The elder Wang has a family including several children.