Nina Wang (1937-2007)       Teddy Wang(1933-1999)

Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll

Nina Wang tied her hair in long pigtails and wore mini-skirts, bobby socks and dangerously high platform shoes. She resembled a giggly Japanese cartoon character whose name became her nickname: Little Sweetie. She was Hong Kong's richest woman.

Her wealth came from privately-owned property developer Chinachem, chaired by Teddy, her childhood sweetheart and later husband.

Teddy Wang died nearly a decade before his official date of death. He was kidnapped in 1983, and after his family paid a multimillion dollar ransom, he was released.

Paying the kidnappers may have been a mistake. Seven years later he was kidnapped again, and a large ransom was paid again. But this time, the outcome was different: Wang was killed, apparently drowned at sea. Nine years after he went missing, his elderly father applied in court for his son to be declared officially dead.

After the announcment of Teddy's official demise, his father produced one will and his widow another.

The father's will, signed in 1968, left everything to his father. The senior Wang testified that Teddy has made a 1060 will dividing his estate  between his wife and his father, but he made the new 1968 will after a detective reported that she had been unfaithful.

The will presented by Nina was a hand-written document leaving everything to her. In 2002, a Hong Kong court ruled that this holographic will was a forgery. Three years later, the appeals court reinstated it.

Nina Wang obtained her pile in 2005. Two years later, she was dead. The Wangs had no children.

History repeats itself

Nina was not kidnapped, nor was she murdered. She died of cancer. But her estate involved probate battles similar to that of her late husband.

Again, there were two wills. Her 2002 will benefited her family and a corporate foundation. A rival will benefited Tony Chan, a feng shui master who had also been Nina's lover. This will was presented by Mr Chan himself.

Chan's will aroused various suspicions. A solicitor whose name appears on the document could not confirm that the signature was his. The will was written in English - no big deal except that Chinese is the native language of China. Furthermore, a handwriting expert testified that it was probably a forgery - and this was Chan's own expert! (Chan applied to the court for a second opinion, thereby demonstrating that he was a master of chutzpah as well as feng shui.)

The will presented by Chan was declared a forgery in 2010. He appealed but lost in 2011. Legal fees have run into the many millions.

The title of this article promised sex, drugs and rock and roll. Teddy cheated, Nina cheated, Teddy's father cheated. There's the sex.

Teddy's father frequented opium dens. There's the drugs.

What about the rock and roll?

Nina Wang had a spokesperson.

His name?

Ringo Wong!

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UPDATE MAY 2011 Tony Chan was charged with forgery and using a false instrument.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2011 The Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong rejected Tony Chan's plea for a retrial. The estate goes to the Chinachem Foundation.