LATE Taiwan tycoon Wang Yung-ching’s eldest son Monday filed a claim in Hong Kong’s High Court for US$4 billion, saying it was the start of a worldwide fight.

    According to a writ filed by Winston Wong Wen-Young, an independent investigation has put the true value of his father’s global estate at over US$17 billion.

    The investigation has also found the value of assets identified in Hong Kong to be in excess of US$4 billion, and include the Zhangzhou Houshi Power Plant in Fujian Province, the Huayang Luoyang Electric Power Co. in Henan and the 530-room Huayang Plaza Hotel in Luoyang City.

    The power plants and the hotel are owned or partially owned by Huayang Investment (HK) Ltd., in which 10 management or employees were named as defendants, including Susan Wang Ruey-hwa, a businesswoman in Taiwan; Sandy Wang Ruey-yu; and Diana Wang Ruey-huei — all daughters of Wang and his third wife. Hung Wen-hsiung and Jack Jao Chien-fang, both from Taiwan and long-time Formosa Plastics Group finance employees who were entrusted to manage Wang’s personal finances, were also named as defendants. Jao is the sole director of Huayang Investment.

    The writ says the defendants have wrongly siphoned off Wang’s assets by using Hong Kong-based and other corporate vehicles purportedly owned by various trusts that were not subject to public scrutiny.

    These trusts were essentially a series of businesses owned and controlled by some of the defendants to the detriment of Wong, and other heirs and beneficiaries of Wang’s estate.

    Wong said the international investigation had uncovered “a web of deception intended to conceal his assets and deny the majority of his heirs, including my brother and sisters, their rightful legacy.”

    “My legal team and I intend to show the Hong Kong court how businesses and assets belonging to my father were wrongfully diverted into shadow corporations, bank accounts and secretive off-shore trusts,” Wong said, adding: “As Wang’s eldest son, I will carry this fight to other jurisdictions wherever necessary.”

    Wong is an elder brother of Cher Wang, a shareholder in Hong Kong’s dominant free-to-air broadcaster TVB and co-founder and chairwoman of Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC Corp.

    Both Wong’s office and the Formosa Plastics Group declined to comment on the lawsuit.

    The late Wang had three wives, but only the first wife, Kuo Yueh-lan, was registered as his official wife. Kuo does not have any children and has legally adopted Wong, who is from Wang’s second wife, as her official son.

    (SD-Agencies)