Feng Shui master loses claim to Nina Wang fortune

Tony Chan says Mrs Wang intended to leave her fortune to him

A Hong Kong feng shui master has lost what the court called a "thoroughly dishonest" appeal for the fortune of late tycoon Nina Wang.

Tony Chan had based his claim to the fortune - recently evaluated at $12bn (£7.5bn) - on a will dated 2006.

Last year a judge ruled in favour of a 2002 will which left the fortune to Mrs Wang's family.

Mr Chan's appeal against the ruling "abused the process of the court", the appeal court said.

He had claimed the will granting the fortune to her family had been forged; instead, questions have been raised about the quality of the will on which Mr Chan had based his claim.

Mr Chan was arrested a year ago on forgery charges but released on bail.

"This court has no hesitation in dismissing this appeal," Judge Anthony Rogers ruled, adding that Mr Chan had "pursued a thoroughly dishonest case".

It is not clear if Mr Chan will take his case to Hong Kong's court of final appeal.

Fortune telling

Mrs Wang, an eccentric businesswoman who died in 2007, owned high-rise towers and companies around the world.

The fight over her estate has captivated the Hong Kong public.

Tony Chan had odd jobs, including that of a bartender, before he began advising Hong Kong's rich and famous on feng shui, or geomancy.

One of his clients was Mrs Wang, who he said was his lover in the years leading up to her death from cancer.

In February 2010 a judge ruled that the will he had presented to back his claim to her fortune was fake. Police later arrested him and an investigation is under way.