Tussle over widow's $40m assets: Niece's lawyer to meet accused in remand
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 31, 2015 1:00 AMByCarolyn Khew
In an unconventional move, Madam Hedy Mok's lawyer will next week pay a visit to former China tour guide Yang Yin while he is in remand.
The lawyer, Mr Peter Doraisamy, revealed this yesterday after a closed-door hearing regarding an application to recognise a new will made by Madam Mok's aunt, Madam Chung Khin Chun.
Her earlier will left all her assets, believed to be worth $40 million, to Yang, who has been accused by Madam Mok, a 61-year-old tour agency operator, of taking advantage of her aunt.
Madam Chung, 87, a widow who has no children, was diagnosed with dementia last year.
Her new will leaves nothing to Yang, 40.
Instead, it leaves most of her wealth to charity.
Mr Doraisamy told The Straits Times that he had applied to the Prisons Department to meet Yang and inform him about the application to get the new will recognised by the courts.
Yesterday, he received approval for the visit, which has been scheduled for next week.
The lawyer said he made the application after Yang's counsel did not receive approval to see their client, which means they could not take instructions from him about the new will.
Yang's lawyer Daniel Zhu confirmed that he has not been told how to proceed regarding the will application. Yang, who has been in remand since Oct 31 last year, faces more than 300 charges.
Two involve criminal breach of trust for allegedly misappropriating $1.1 million from Madam Chung.
Yang, a Singapore permanent resident, has already raised questions about the new will, arguing that Madam Chung's medical condition precludes her from creating one.
"I do not see how a fresh will, purportedly executed by Madam Chung, age 87, was validly made, if at all," he said in court documents.
kcarolyn@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 29, 2015.
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