Published: Sunday March 17, 2013 MYT 7:36:00 PM
Updated: Sunday March 17, 2013 MYT 7:44:46 PM
Tycoon Khoo Kay Peng’s wife sues for divorce, may get more than RM2bil
By ISABELLE LAI
PETALING JAYA: One time glamour couple of Malaysia, multi-millionaire Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Peng and former Miss Malaysia Pauline Chai has split. They had married in 1970.
Chai, 66, lodged a petition for divorce in London last month on grounds of “unreasonable behaviour”, after 43 years of marriage with Khoo, listed as number 36 on Forbes' Malaysia's 50 Richest.
According to UK's The Times Law, British courts could award Chai up to RM2.375bil (£500mil), making it the largest in British divorce history.
It said preliminary hearings should take place over the next few months.
“One of the issues will be Dr Khoo's worth - his wife will claim 50% of it, as is the norm in the British divorce court - and whether the family properties, technically owned by his companies, are part of the couple's joint wealth,” it said in a news report written by Frances Gibb.
Chai's lawyer Ayesha Vardag said her client had established her home in England and was entitled to enjoying English law.
“English law works on the basis of a 50-50 split of assets unless there is a reason to depart from that principle. We have wealth here that was built up over 40 years and a wife's entitlement would be half of that. Any question of need is secondary.”
Khoo and Chai have five grown-up children and lived a lavish lifestyle with properties in Kuala Lumpur, England, Australia and Canada.
They bought a 404.69ha estate in Hertfordshire, located to the north of Greater London, in 1998, which was estimated to be worth RM141mil (£30mil).
“[It] then became the family home, complete with an exotic animal menagerie, including alpacas and llamas, and with two custom-built lakes each constructed for RM282,869 (£60,000),” said Gibb.
Dr Khoo, who, among others is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Malayan United Industries Berhad, is a born-again Christian.
- Robber shot dead after attacking out-of-uniform cop with meat cleaver
- PKR preparing five-year GE14 'war' plan, says Azmin
- Tian, Tamrin and Haris released after remand denied (updated)
- Sea lanes, barter trading to be reviewed, says Esscom D-G
- Najib and Palanivel to discuss deaths in police custody
- Single-party Barisan Nasional is feasible, says Muhyiddin
- Rafizi: PKR filing election petition for Balik Pulau parliamentary seat
- Karpal calls for state-level Senate elections
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Set aside differences, Malaysians told
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
- Google, like Facebook, in talks to buy Waze for about US$1bil
- Crown selling entire 10% in rival Echo, partly owned by Genting(Update)
- First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction, can fetch US$150,000
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Markets face rough summer ride as Fed pullback feared
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Commodities trader sues BP, Shell others for alleged oil price fixing
- Billionaire Icahn seeks up to US$7bil for Dell bid
- Google faces new federal antitrust probe
- Goldman Sachs unveils checks on conflicts in bid to fix tarnished image
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Maybank bullish on growth, to expand regionally under new leadership
- Khazanah appoints Nor Mohamed deputy chairman
- Lafarge Malayan Cement to finalise next expansion plans by August
- London's Heathrow airport closed after emergency landing
- Far East quake felt in Moscow, tsunami warning lifted
- Police make new arrests in London soldier killing
- Britain's press demands jailing of Islamist preacher
- Tsunami warning in Russia's Far East after 8.2 quake
- US bridge collapse sends cars, people into river
- Strong quake strikes off Tonga
- Jury fails to decide on US murderer death sentence
- One killed in Brazil giant fuel depot blaze
- Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe
- LPGA plans 12-hole rounds in water-logged Bahamas
- Ryan Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial
- Kelly overcomes scare to clinch title in KLGCC
- Time to make amends Garcia wants to meet Woods to defuse racist row
- American Johnson back to defend Colonial crown
- Rain dampens debut of LPGA Bahamas event
- Tianlang adds another US event to schedule
- Clock ticking for next golden generation
- Nadal wants to create history at Roland Garros
- Serena out to tame French Open demons
- Zheng Jie stuns Wozniacki in Brussels
- British Open: Ramy Ashour racks up 38th successive win
- Nicol David sails into quarter-finals of British Open in 35 minutes
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- DJ stands by hubby in molest case
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Singapore GDP growth surprises, beats economists’ forecast of contraction
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Tian, Tamrin and Haris released after remand denied (updated)
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Inventions a-plenty, but no real innovation
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
RSS
