Stanley Ho and his fourth wife, Angela Leong, at a 2009 engagement. Source: AFP......... Hi Mom
[keep smiling Stan]
THE fight for Stanley Ho's empire turned bizarre yesterday when he sued the relatives he had earlier forgiven for "hijacking" his wealth.
Mr Ho's multi-billion-dollar casino legacy was thrown into further doubt when the 89-year-old tycoon sued the same clutch of mistresses and children he had first accused of stealing his wealth and then forgiven on Wednesday.
The swirl of new accusations included the allegation that the gambling kingpin had been forced into making a conciliatory statement on television this week and that Mr Ho had never intended to cede control of his empire.
Although the fate of his estate was expected to be messy, few imagined that the disputes would be quite so spectacular while the ailing tycoon was still alive.
People close to the family believe that Mr Ho and his lawyer are being wrenched around by competing forces within his vast clan.
The past four days have revealed the rifts that crisscross relations between Mr Ho's three surviving wives and 16 children.
Yesterday brought the emergence of a new and potentially litigious player, Angela Ho, one of the four children whom Mr Ho fathered with his late first wife. Her exclusion from the share-transfer deal was, she said, in violation of Mr Ho's wishes for an even distribution of his estate.
The lawsuit filed yesterday by the lawyer Mr Ho appeared to have dismissed late on Tuesday night, before reinstating him hours later, accuses family members of seizing control of the main casino business. His lawyers have said that Mr Ho’s wealth had been “hijacked” through the share-transfer.
According to the writ, the coup was carried out through an illegal share transfer of Mr Ho's 31.7 per cent stake in the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau. That deal divided the shares among the five children Mr Ho sired by Lucina Laam and another of his three wives, Chan Un-chan.
The family members who benefited by that deal have produced letters signed in Mr Ho's shaky handwriting in which he appears to give his consent to the deal.
The lawsuit also flies in the face of a statement Mr Ho delivered on television this week. In it, the visibly ailing, wheelchair-bound billionaire panted his way through a series of cue cards and proclaimed the dispute resolved.
Mr Ho has spent long periods of the past two years out of the public eye, recovering, many believe, from a stroke. The past few days have convinced those close to his businesses that he has, at the very least, lost control over the way in which his views are presented.
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