[2025] HKCFI 1401, following a 23-day trial, Wilson Chan J pronounced against the validity of the last purported will (“

”) of Mr Lim Por Yen, the late industrialist and founder and controlling shareholder of the Lai Sun Group. The 2004 Will disinherited his third family entirely and 11 weeks after making the 2004 Will, Mr Lim passed away.

test, Wilson Chan J held that Mr Lim had no testamentary capacity when making the 2004 Will. The judge found that Mr Lim suffered from severe dementia at the time of making the will. In particular, the judge heard evidence from a doctor under subpoena who attended the occasion of execution of the will and who witnessed Mr Lim undergoing a mental examination immediately before the execution. The judge accepted that evidence as reliable, in contrast to the plaintiffs’ other witnesses who the judge found were untruthful or unreliable.

The judge also held that there was no knowledge or approval of the 2004 Will. The fact that Mr Lim had never seen drafts of the will previously, that he did not choose his own executor, that he did not initiate preparations for the will, the circumstances of execution and the loss of contemporaneous documents regarding the execution were all circumstances which the judge held excited the Court’s suspicion to the “

On the other hand, the judge rejected the Defendants’ case that the will was procured by undue influence and held that there was no evidence that any pressure or coercion had been exerted on Mr Lim.

, instructed by MinterEllison, acted for the Plaintiffs.

, instructed by Holman Fenwick Willan, acted for the Defendants.

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