Joseph Lau’s ex-girlfriend says she doesn’t want court battle as tycoon prepares for estate fight
Statement from Dr Yvonne Lui Lai-kwan follows report that Lau gave HK$10 billion to partner and son in case of litigation after his death
Fugitive tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung’s ex-girlfriend Dr Yvonne Lui Lai-kwan said in a surprise announcement on Monday that she had no desire to take her family matters to court amid speculation of a possible estate fight.
The statement followed a report last week in the Apple Daily which said Lau was understood to have given HK$10 billion in total to his partner Chan Hoi-wan and his son Lau Ming-wai in preparation for any litigation that might be mounted by Lui to fight for his estate after his death.
“Dr Lui wants Mr Lau to be assured that she has no desire to initiate any court proceedings against Mr Lau or anyone else and would prefer to live her life without the ongoing involvement of lawyers,” she said in a statement issued by law firm Withers.
“Dr Lui is certain that Mr Lau shares that view and will also agree as a loving co-parent to their children that the time has come for further press speculation and intrusion into her and the children’s family life to come to an end, without the ongoing involvement of lawyers and press.”
The statement was issued after Lau, 65, announced in a full-page statement printed in several newspapers last week that he had ended his relationships with Lui, 37, in 2014.
According to that statement, Lau maintained contact and correspondence with Lui, a former Miss Hong Kong semi-finalist, solely because she was the mother of his two children. Lau even said that he had given Dr Lui “money, jewellery and other gifts” with a total value of over HK$2 billion.
