Ex-tour guide's wife also sued in row

A former China tour guide embroiled in a legal battle over a widow's estimated $40 million assets saw his wife pulled into the dispute yesterday.

Madam Hedy Mok, the niece of 87-year-old Madam Chung Khin Chun, received High Court approval to add Madam Weng Yandan, 34, as a defendant in the high-profile lawsuit.

She and her husband Yang Yin, 40, are alleged to have neglected their duties in caring for Madam Chung after he was given legal control of her assets.

Mr Yang befriended Madam Chung while acting as her personal guide on a 2008 trip to Beijing and went to live with her at her $30 million bungalow off Yio Chu Kang Road in 2009. His wife and two children, now aged two and eight, moved in last year.

Madam Weng returned to China last month, but Madam Mok's lawyer Peter Doraisamy said after a pre-trial conference yesterday that she, along with her husband, was also being sued for damages by his client.

Mr Yang claims Madam Chung wanted him as a "grandson". He became a Singapore permanent resident in 2011. A year later, she granted him a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), giving him full control of her assets.

When Madam Mok, 60, found out about this, she took her aunt to live with her, evicted the Yang family and began court proceedings, which included suing Mr Yang for allegedly breaching his legal duties.

Madam Chung was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year.

The Office of the Public Guardian, which administers the LPA, has obtained court approval to temporarily suspend Mr Yang's powers under the LPA - along with those of Madam Mok as Madam Chung's deputy - so that the court can decide whether the widow should undergo an independent medical review. A court hearing is set to take place tomorrow.

Mr Yang also faces separate investigations by the police, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Manpower Ministry.

The next pre-trial conference is scheduled for Nov 12.

tohyc@sph.com.sg

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 9, 2014.
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